Garden Fresh: Squash & Ricotta Galette

The more I cook, the more I come to appreciate high quality, fresh ingredients. Now that I'm in a house with a yard (yay!), I've made it a goal of mine to grow fresh herbs and vegetables in my own backyard garden. This year, my husband and I started small, with a pear tomato plant, basil, oregano and a variety of hot peppers. If all goes well, we'll expand our inventory next summer. In the meantime, I gladly take any and all donations of fresh vegetables from my friends and family.

My mother-in-law recently brought over a bounty of wonderful vegetables from her garden - jalapenos, banana peppers, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers and eggplant. I was really excited to have such great ingredients to work with, and wanted to make sure that I put them to great use. Today's recipe calls for the use of both squash and zucchini, with the added bonus of the use of fresh basil that I grabbed from my own garden.

Squash & Ricotta Galette

 1 medium zucchini, sliced thin

1 medium yellow squash, sliced thin

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup ricotta cheese

1 tbs EVOO 

I egg, beaten

1 tsp fresh thyme

1/2 tsp grated lemon rind

1 tsp fresh lemon juice (about half a lemon)

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp kosher salt

1 frozen pie crust

1/8 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Thaw pie crust as instructed. Unroll and lay out in 9-inch pie pan. 

Combine squash and zucchini in a large bowl. Add olive oil and garlic and mix well. In a medium bowl, add ricotta, parmesan cheese, thyme, lemon rind, lemon juice, pepper and egg. Mix well.

Spread ricotta mixture over the dough in the pie pan. Lay zucchini and squash on top of the ricotta mix, alternating and slightly overlapping the edges. Sprinkle with salt. Fold edges of the crust over slightly.

Cover the edges of the pie crust with strips of aluminum foil (this will prevent the crust from browning too much). Put pie pan in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, cook 10 minutes and add basil leaves. Cook another 5 minutes and cut into wedges.

This dish is light and fresh, with floral undertones that suggest a slight sweetness for your palette. It's a great addition to a summer get together, and will appeal to kids and parents alike.

Cheers!