In the basket this week:
pint of English peas
kale
spring onions
beets
1 huge cucumber
2 little zucchini
4 yellow squash
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When I saw the squash, I immediately thought of the zucchini galette a friend had posted about.
Yum! This rustic tart is tangy and cheesy, and the crust is rich and flaky.
Start the dough by combining cold flour (put it in the freezer for 30 min), salt, and butter using a pastry blender.
Combine sour cream (I used Greek yogurt), lemon juice, and ice water.
Mix the wet into the dry with your hands, pat into a ball, chill for 30 min.
Meanwhile, prep your veg. (I only ended up using 1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash)
Slice the squash thinly and lay onto paper towels, sprinkling with salt and allowing to drain for 30 min.
Combine Ricotta, Parmesan, and Ricotta cheeses.
Roll out the dough to a 12 inch round.
Spread the cheese mixture over the dough, leaving a 2 inch border.
Lay the squash slices in pretty concentric circles over the cheese.
Fold the edges up and over, pleating – the center will be open. Drizzle with olive oil and garlic, brush the edges with egg wash.
Bake for 40 minutes, sprinkle with basil, and enjoy you delicious tart!
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Similar in concept to the galette is the Summer Squash Pizza – thin slices of squash and zucchini, spiraled on top of goat cheese and ricotta.
Start by slicing the squash as thin as you possibly can.
Spread a mixture of lemon juice, ricotta, and goat cheese onto the pizza dough, and sprinkle with basil.
Arrange the squash on top, drizzle with more lemon juice and olive oil. Bake until the edges are golden brown, enjoy!
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After making the pizza and the tart, I still had squash left over! So I made one of my favorite childhood treats – squash muffins. The squash makes the muffins so incredibly moist and lends the subtlest, delicate squash flavor.
These are best served warm, with a little butter on top – yum!
I like to peel the squash – if you prefer you can leave the skin on and it will create little chewy bits in the muffins.
Slice the squash into large rounds, they don’t have to be pretty.
Cook the rounds in boiling water for a few minutes to make them nice and tender, then pulse in a food processor or mash and let cool slightly.
Mix the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and a little lemon zest.
Mix the wet ingredients – squash, melted butter, and an egg.
Mix everything together to make the batter – you can see the nice little bits of squash throughout.
Bake for 20 minutes and you will be rewarded with little golden delights. Try not to eat the whole batch by yourself.
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These beets were just gorgeous. Both the greens and the bulbs are edible, so I wanted to make sure to utilize both.
This is one of my favorite salads – roasted beets, fresh mozzarella, watercress, and an orange juice and champagne vinegar dressing.
For the greens (no recipe here) I did a simple saute. The tough stems need a little more time to cook than the leaves – chop them up and saute them with some olive oil in a saucepan. Tear the leaves into pieces, rinse them, and throw them into the pot with water still clinging to the leaves. Cover and let cook for a few minutes. I didn’t have any onion on hand (or I would have thrown it in with the stems) so I added some onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and a splash of red wine vinegar.
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Summer Squash and Ricotta Galette
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
She says it serves 6 – I vote 4 if you have a salad as well, 2 on its own
For the pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, chilled in the freezer for 30 minutes
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup sour cream (I used Greek Yogurt)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water
Filling:
2 small zucchinis OR 1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
4 tsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1 tbsp slivered basil leaves
Glaze:
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water
Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle bits of butter over dough and cut it in using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice, and water and add this to the butter-flour mixture. Mix with your fingertips until large lumps form. Pat the lumps into a ball – do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 min.
Meanwhile, spread the zucchini out over several layers of paper towels. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and let drain for 30 minutes – gently blot the tops of the zucchini dry with paper towels before using.
When you are ready to make the galette, preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil and the garlic together, set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, and 1 tsp of the garlic and olive oil mixture together, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Arrange the squash attractively on top of the ricotta in concentric circles, starting at the outside edge. Drizzle the remaining tbsp of the garlic and olive oil mixture evenly over the zucchini. Fold the border over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit – the center will be open. Brush the crust with the egg yolk glaze.
Bake the galette until the cheese is puffed, the zucchini is slightly wilted and the galette is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with basil (I like to cut it with scissors directly onto the galette), let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
Summer Squash Pizza
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Serves 2-4
Pizza Dough, recipe follows
1 lemon
3 oz goat cheese, room temp
2 oz Ricotta cheese
2 tbsp fresh basil, cut into thin slivers
1 small/medium yellow zucchini, sliced as thinly as you can
1 small/medium green zucchini, sliced as thinly as you can
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Roll your pizza dough into a thin 12-inch circle and lay it on a tray or stone that has been dusted lightly with cornmeal.
In a small bowl, stir together the goat cheese and ricotta with the juice of half your lemon. Season it with salt and freshly ground pepper, and spread it over your pizza dough. Scatter fresh basil slivers over the cheese.
Arrange your squash coins in concentric circles over the goat cheese spread, overlapping them slightly and alternating colors. Squeeze the juice of the second half of your lemon on top, then drizzle with olive oil and finish with more salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes, watching carefully, or until the edges of your pizza are golden brown and the zucchini looks roasted and a little curled up at the edges.
Pizza Dough
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
makes one 12 in thin crust pizza
1 1/2 cups flour (can replace up to 1/2 w/ wheat flour)
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water (may need up to 2 tablespoons more)
1 tbsp olive oil
Mix dry ingredients, including yeast, in a large bowl. Add water and olive oil, stirring mixture into a lumpy ball. Dump everything onto a lightly floured surface and knead into a homogeneous ball.
Knead it for 1-2 minutes. Lightly oil the bowl you mixed the dough in, return the kneaded dough to the bowl, turning over so that all sides are coated. Cover it in plastic wrap and leave it undisturbed for an hour or two, until it has doubled in size.
Gently press the air out of the dough with the palm of your hands. Fold the piece into an approximate ball shape, and let it sit under the plastic wrap for 20 more minutes.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 12 inch round.
Yellow Squash Muffins
This recipe is everywhere and has been around forever
Makes 12 muffins
1 lb yellow summer squash (3 medium)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon zest
Preheat the oven to 375 deg F, grease a muffin pan.
Peel the squash and cut into 1 inch slices. Place squash in a saucepan with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain and mash or pulse in a food processor, allow to cool slightly. Stir in the butter and egg with the squash. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Stir in the squash mixture just until moistened.
Fill greased muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.
Beet, Watercress, and Mozzarella Salas
Adapted from Williams Sonoma
Serves 2-4
1 1/2 baby red and/or golden beets
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (the good stuff, not the one you use for cooking)
2 tbsp Champagne vinegar
2 tbsp fresh orange juice
1/4 lb watercress, cut into bite-size sprigs
1 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into wedges
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Fleur de sel, to taste
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Trim the root and stem ends from the beets and rinse well. Wrap the beets in heavy-duty aluminum foil, making a separate packet for each color. Bake until the beets can be pierced easily with a knife, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Unwrap the beets and let cool. Gently peel the beets with a paring knife, cut them into quarters and place in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, and orange juice. Pour half of the dressing over the beets and stir to coat. Add the watercress to the remaining dressing in the large bowl and toss to coat.
Mound the watercress on individual plates and top with the beets. Arrange the cheese around the beets and drizzle with any vinaigrette left over from dressing the watercress. Sprinkle with sea salt and a few grindings of pepper and serve immediately.