Wow, that's a cheesy post title. Whatevs.*
*Update 08/25/10: I had to change the title of the post. It was just too much.
With this recipe, I believe I've reached the zenith of my cooking career thus far. Prior to this, I had never eaten a galette before let alone cooked one, but I had an overflow of squash from my CSA and decided to test it out. I wasn't too concerned because the recipe came from Smitten Kitchen; if you've ever cooked one of her recipes you would understand.
If you cook just one recipe from my blog, I beg it to be this one. There is only one snag, and it's that the crust has an entire stick of butter in it. And if you're like me, you will eat half of this galette in one sitting. You do the math. It ain't pretty.
If you are done with bathing suits for the season and/or are willing to skip the next meal and/or actually have the willpower to only eat one slice, then read ahead!
Pie crust lesson: to make the best pie crust possible, make sure that all ingredients are extremely cold right when you use them. I learned that the reason for this is that you want the fat (butter in this case) to remain in tiny chunks and not to blend into the other ingredients. Then when you bake the crust, the butter melts and creates air pockets which gives the crust a flaky texture.
Summer Squash and Ricotta Galette
from Smitten Kitchen
For the crust:
1 1/4 cups flour, chilled for a few minutes prior to using
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled until right before use
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water
For the filling:
2 small/medium summer squash (I used a zucchini and a crazy-lookin orange one)
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (I used part-skim, was still amazing)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano
1/4 cup grated mozzarella
1 tbsp slivered basil leaves
Glaze:
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water
Whisk together the flour and salt, then sprinkle the butter on top of the mixture. Mix until it resembles a course meal with tiny chunks of hard butter throughout. The recipe says to use a pastry blender but I used the dough blade of my food processor and it worked just fine. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice, and ice water; fold into the flour mixture. Using your hands, mix until you can form a ball but don't overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Look at 'em sweat!
In the meantime, slice the zucchini into 1/4" thick pieces. Sprinkle salt across a double-layer of paper towels and arrange the zucchini on top. Sprinkle more salt on top of that and let sit for about 20 minutes to sweat. Pat the zucchini dry before using. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil and garlic together; set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the cheeses then add 1 tsp of the garlic/oil mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 12-inch round. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the ricotta mixture on the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Shingle the zucchini around the dough, then drizzle with the garlic/oil mixture. Fold the border over the zucchini, pleating to make it pretty and fit well, leaving the center open (see pictures). Brush the crush with the egg yolk glaze.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until cheese is puffy and crust is golden brown. Let cool slightly before cutting, then try not to eat the entire thing. I dare you.
Isn't it gorgeous??
Gorgeous!
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