Zucchini and ricotta galette

Remember that galette with the amazing crust? Yeah, me too. But since I’m enjoying the way that it is not yet butternut squash season, I wanted a summer version for a dinner recently. Fortunately, I didn’t have to look far.

(Look, kids! Terrible lighting make your zucchini look like sources of nuclear power!)

The part of this that is complicated is that you really need to make and then chill the dough. The good part is that you can do this a day ahead if needed and keep the dough in the fridge, tightly wrapped. The rest is dead easy.

I’ve doubled the recipe from the original below, because a single tart feeds three to four, and it’s so tasty you’re bound to crave leftovers for lunch the next day.

Zucchini and ricotta galette
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

For the crust:
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
2 sticks of butter, cold from the fridge (unsalted if you have it)
1/2 c. sour cream
1 T + 1 t. lemon juice
1/2 c. cold water

For the filling:
2 regular or 4 little zucchini
3 T. olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 c. whole milk ricotta
1 c. grated parmesan or asiago
1/2 c. grated mozzarella
salt and pepper

Mix the flour and salt, and then cut in the butter. Starting with a pastry blender is the easiest option; if you don’t have one, try cutting the butter into little chunks with a knife and then rubbing it in with your hands. In the end, the mix should have the texture of damp sand.

Stir in the wet ingredients — sour cream, lemon juice, water — and mix just until the dough forms large clumps. Pat these into two roughly-evenly-sized balls, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour.

Slice the zucchini into thin (roughly quarter-inch) rounds. Evenness is more important than thickness. Lay the zucchini out on a double layer of paper towels and sprinkle with 1 t. salt. Let them drain for at least 30 minutes.

For the filling, mince or press the garlic and mix it with the olive oil.

In a separate bowl, mix the three cheeses, then add a teaspoon of the garlicky olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Blot the zucchini with fresh paper towels to dry it further.

When the dough is chilled, remove it from the fridge and roll each ball out out between two sheets of parchment paper. Aim for a 12-inch round with each. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Remove the top piece of parchment from each crust and place the bottom piece, with the crust on top of it, on a baking sheet. Spread half of the ricotta mixture on each crust, starting from the center and leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange the zucchini in rings of overlapping slices (like fallen dominoes) on top of the ricotta mix. Drizzle both tarts with the remaining garlicky olive oil. Fold in the edge of the tarts, moving from your starting point in one direction, making pleats as you go to make it work. It will only cover the edge of the filling, which is fine. (Visual aid here.)

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the zucchini is cooked through. (You can check the latter with a toothpick.) If your oven doesn’t heat evenly, rotate them between racks halfway through. I like this best hot, but if you’re into room-temperature foods, I bet it would be good that way too!