Zucchini Crostata

 As much as I love stuffing those globe zucchini growing in my garden, it was time for a change and 

Panini Girl gave me just the inspiration I needed for those cute little green orbs. Yes, you can make this with the regular long zucchini too, but you'll need to line up a couple of rows of zucchini slices, rather than one overlapping disc as you see in the above photo.

Roll out the pastry dough and spread the topping. Tip - roll out the dough directly onto parchment paper and transfer the whole thing to a cookie sheet that's been preheated. If you have a pizza stone, so much the better. I used one the second time I made this and the crust turned out more evenly browned on the bottom.

Slice the zucchini thinly (or use a mandoline), arrange over the cheese and season with salt, pepper and thyme.

Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the slices, then plop a small cherry or grape tomato in the center.

 Bake as directed.

And dig in. Enjoy with a fresh tomato salad before the season's over.

Zucchini Crostata

printable recipe here

recipe adapted from Panini Girl (My changes in red)

Crust

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 ounces) plus 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter
About 1/4 cup ice water

In a bowl toss flour with salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Using a fork, stir in the ice water by tablespoons until the dough holds together when pressed. Sprinkle in more water if needed. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap well and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before rolling out.

Filling

2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced (I used a mandoline, but you can just use a knife and slice about 1/4″ thick or a little less) (I used one medium globe zucchini)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (I used one cup)
1/4 cup goat cheese (I used a little bit of gorgonzola in addition since I had it, and it was delicious too)

1 extra large egg (extra large or jumbo because I save a little bit for the egg wash at the end)
freshly grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper
extra-virgin olive oil
1 egg, beaten with a little water (use a little bit of the egg you reserved above instead)

Heat a baking sheet or pizza stone in a 375 degree oven. Mix ricotta and goat cheese (and egg, except for a little bit to brush on top later) together until smooth. Add lemon zest and salt and pepper to taste. Roll out your dough into a circle (directly on a piece of parchment paper on your countertop). Spread cheese mixture over the dough, leaving a 2″ border. Arrange zucchini slices in an overlapping pattern. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves, salt, pepper and the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Drizzle a little olive oil over the zucchini. Fold the the edges of the crust up over the filling. Brush the crust with the beaten egg. Lift the parchment paper with both hands and transfer to the baking sheet or pizza stone. Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes. Serves: 4 as a main course, 6-8 as an appetizer