Got a lotta zucchini?
If you’re tired of stuffed zucchini and stir-fried zucchini and everything else zucchini – and especially if you have some sauteed zucchini left over from another night – this is a happy new way to eat up all that zucchini. If the zucchini’s already cooked, this galette doesn’t take long, is cooking when your guests arrive, and makes a good fancy vegetarian dinner (or serve with sliced chicken or pork on the side to make it a meat meal).
The filling:
If you don’t have any zucchini already cooked, start by sauteeing three medium sized zucchini in olive oil in a medium-sized frying pan. You can slice them any way you like, but I did mine in ribbons to be fancier. As they fry, mix in a teaspoon of salt and a handful of thyme; you could add chopped onion too.
The galette:
Preheat the oven to 400. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix 3/4 cups of whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup of white flour, and a large pinch of salt. Drop a stick of butter on top and microwave about 2 minutes or until pretty melted; mix. Add two teaspoons of lemon zest. Add an egg and mix; if the result doesn’t hold together in a ball add more flour or water gradually until it does. Turn the dough out on the counter and knead a little, then form into a ball and squash it down with your hands on a baking sheet until it forms a disk about 12 inches in diameter.
Filling the galette:
Spread a soft white cheese – ricotta, or goat cheese, or Greek yogurt – on top of the galette, leaving a margin of a couple of inches all the way around. On top of the cheese, sprinkle 3 cloves of chopped garlic and a generous handful of thyme. By now the zucchini should be soft; sprinkle them over the top, and add a handful of sliced cherry tomatoes on top. Now fold over the edges of the galette – they should not meet in the middle – brush on some olive oil, and bake until browned, about 40 minutes, while you enjoy a glass of wine with your guests. Let stand 5 minutes after it comes out of the oven; slice with a knife and serve like pie, with a salad or meat on the side.
Vegetarian or vegan?
Naturally vegetarian, but you’d have to experiment with substitutes for the butter to make it vegan. Note: this is also lactose-free.
Will it keep?
Yes, it’s fine microwaved the next day for lunch, but it won’t keep very long without getting soggy.