Zucchini and Goat Cheese Galettes

Pies, tarts and galettes are everywhere on Instagram right now, there is simply no getting away from their golden, buttery glare. With so much amazing summer fruit available, it’s no surprise really. But today we thought we’d shift focus to the humble zucchini, a vegetable that doesn’t seem to get nearly enough buzz around this time of year. What’s up with that? They’re abundant at our local farmers markets right now, with their gorgeous vibrant hues, and long, um… slender shape. (Were just gonna leave that one alone). But to be totally honest, they don’t exactly have a ton of flavor all by themselves – likely making them a bit of a forgotten summer squash in our books, especially when it comes to baking.

For this recipe, we decided to keep things pretty simple and easy – the way a galette should be. Pairing together cheese and zucchini just seemed like the natural thing to do here, and when you’ve got it all wrapped up in delicious, flaky pastry and top it with fresh fragrant thyme leaves – well, this could easily be dinner, dessert, or both.

Zucchini and Goat Cheese Galettes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the filling:

– 2 medium zucchini – 1 yellow, 1 green (sliced ½ inch thickness)
– ½ cup herb infused goat cheese
– ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
– drizzle of olive oil
– pepper, to taste
– few sprigs of fresh thyme, to top

For the pie dough:

– 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
– 1 cup of butter, cubed
– 1 teaspoon salt
– ¼ cup ice cold water
– 1 egg yolk (for egg wash)

Instructions:

1. Slice zucchini with a mandolin and place flat on a tray with a clean cloth or paper towel. Sprinkle with salt to help draw out the moisture. Allow at least 20-30 minutes for this process ahead of time, so you won’t end up with wet, soggy pastry.

2. Make the dough. Using a fork or a pastry cutter, break up butter in a large mixing bowl, leaving some big chunks and mix with flour and salt. Add ice-cold water to flour mixture and mix until it just comes together. You don’t want to over work your dough or it will become a very dense, not having the flaky delicate quality’s you want.

3. Once your dough ball comes together, split into two and wrap in cellophane. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Ideally, to cool the dough faster, you should flatten and shape into a circle, then chill.

4. Flour your work surface and place unwrapped dough on table and using a rolling-pin, roll-out the dough to a thickness of about 3-5mm. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just be careful you don’t roll it too thin, otherwise you’ll risk getting a hole in the process, forcing you to start over again, and overwork the dough.

Tip: Only work with one dough round at a time, that way it doesn’t get too warm. Ideally you want the dough to stay as cold as possible, to ensure the bake of your product is the best it can be.

5. Building the galettes are a simple process. Once your pie dough is rolled out to the desired thickness, add your goat cheese in small rough chunks. More is better in our books, but remember to leave yourself about 1 – 1.5 inches from the edge for folding.

6. Sprinkle ½ of the grated Parmesan over the goat cheese, and start arranging your zucchini slices in a neat circular pattern. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the top, and a dash of pepper to taste. Now you can start folding the edges to where your ingredients start, folding all the edges in. Repeat the process for the second galette. Place them in the fridge for about 10 minutes while your oven heats up.

7. Preheat oven to 400 F.

8. With a pastry brush, gently brush sides of the galettes with egg yolk to give the dough a beautiful golden color while baking.

9. Bake in the oven for about 30-35 minutes (this will depend on your oven and its temperature) and remember to rotate your tray at the halfway mark.

10. Let the galettes cool on a rack for about 5-10 minutes before serving.