These mini zucchini ricotta galettes are flavorful appetizers that include basil, parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts.
After last summer’s zucchini gardening fiasco (short version: it didn’t grow), I decided to take a pass on planting it again this year. But I’ve still had a plethora of squash to work with thanks to my local CSA, From The Farmer.
Sometimes I juice it. I often sauté it. I’ve tried adding it to baked goods but that doesn’t do much for me. So earlier this week I decided to throw some into zucchini ricotta galettes.
These mini galettes are a great little summer appetizer. They require several steps to prepare but the process can be shortened by making the dough in advance since it needs to be chilled.
You can also save time by purchasing pre-made pie dough, though homemade will yield much tastier results. Ricotta adds a bit of creaminess to the tart and basil, Parmigiano Reggiano and pine nuts add just the right amount of flavor.
I hope you enjoy them!
Mini Zucchini Ricotta Galettes
Ingredients
Pâte Brisée
- 5 ounces all-purpose flour (approximately 1 cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 ounces unsalted butter, chopped and cold
- 3 tablespoons ice cold water
Filling
- 1/2 medium zucchini, sliced very thin on a mandoline
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese, preferably whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- 4-5 small basil leaves, chopped (about 3 teaspoons)
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- freshly ground black pepper
- optional: finishing salt
Instructions
Prepare the dough:
- Add flour, butter and salt into a food processor. Pulse the machine on and off until the mixture is crumbly. A few pea-sized bits of butter are ok. Slowly add the water with the machine running just until the dough forms a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic film and flatten. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Prepare the tarts:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Toss the zucchini and olive oil together in a small bowl. Combine the ricotta, salt, garlic, and basil in a separate bowl (it's best to let this mixture sit for at least 20 minutes so the garlic and basil flavors absorb into the cheese).
- Toast the pine nuts in the oven until golden brown and fragrant, approximately 5 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut into 4 or 6 even pieces (4 will give you more wiggle room but 6 galettes is the final goal). Leave one piece out and return the other sections to the fridge so they remain firm.
- On a barely floured clean surface, roll out the dough as thinly as possible. Place a 3 1/2 inch round cookie cutter in the center without actually cutting the dough (a larger or smaller cutter is fine but will effect the yield). Slice off some of the excess dough, leaving approximately 1 inch of extra dough. If you only cut 4 pieces, save the excess dough to roll into 2 more sections.
- Add 1 heaping tablespoon of the ricotta mixture into the cookie cutter and spread evenly. Grate some Parmigiano Reggiano on top. Fan out several slices of the zucchini in a circular pattern to fill the space. Top with more Parmigiano Reggiano and some freshly ground black pepper. If using, sprinkle a bit of finishing salt on top. Tightly fold the excess dough on top of the zucchini to form the galette. Gently press down to flatten the top.
- Repeat this process with all of the dough and ingredients. Chill the galettes for 15 minutes and then bake until the dough is golden on top, approximately 25 minutes.
- Garnish with toasted pine nuts before serving.
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
For immediate help troubleshooting a recipe, please email me using the form on my contact page. I’ll try to respond to urgent questions as quickly as possible! For all general questions, please leave a comment here :)
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Kate@Diethood says
This is beautiful!!! I would knock those out in one sitting…for reals… they sound and look amazing!
And thank you so, so, SO much for sharing my Pear Tart!
Jennifer Farley says
Anytime! I haven’t had much time to visit my blogger buddies lately so it’s the least I can do :)
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
These are the cutest, I adore the petite size!
Tieghan says
Jen, these re perfect!! I love zucchini and these little tarts are the perfect thing!!
Ashley says
Everything is cuter mini sized! Love these! Great way to use up all that zucchini!
Kathryn says
Oh these are so adorable! I love the combination of zucchini and creamy ricotta.
Marie @ Little Kitchie says
These are too cute! Would love to serve these at a party!
Winnie says
These look fantastic, Jen!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
I love galettes! Sweet or savory – love them!
Amy @ swiss miss in the kitchen says
oh wow, these galettes look so pretty and the filling sounds divine!! This is a great recipe to use the abundance of zucchini I have!! :) Thank you!
xox Amy
Sophia @ NY Foodgasm says
Yummm yummmm yummmm!! These are so pretty I would not wanna eat them, but I would easily gobble up two anyways!
Susan says
I didn’t grow zucchini for the past two years for the very opposite reason – it grew like crazy! My husband hated it rambling all over the lawn and killing the grass so this year I found a more compact variety and grew it in a spot where it wouldn’t overtake the lawn. I’m thrilled to find a new-to-me zucchini recipe to try. Love the sound of the ricotta and pine nuts in these beautiful galettes!
Carla @ Carlas Confections says
These are so dang cute!! I wouldnt be able to stop at one. Yum!
Christina @ The Beautiful Balance says
YUM! Those look so tasty! I have made a similar galette before, but used goat cheese instead of ricotta.
Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts says
Wonderful little appetizers! Need to make some that are gluten free. I bet it would be easy. :-)
Shirley
Jennifer Farley says
I’ve never tried making gluten free pate brisee. You’re more familiar with gluten free than I am; do you think I could just swap the flour with one of those prepackaged GF flours such as Bob’s Red Mill?
Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts says
Jen–I’m not a fan of BRM ap flour because of the bean flour component for one thing. It’s too heavy and I don’t care for the taste. I’d make this using the mixture of Asian white rice flour and cornstarch (3 parts to 2 parts, respectively) that I normally use as my gf ap flour. I use that for pate choux and most other “conversions” that I do and it works just fine. Will let you know when I give it a try. But if you want to use a ready-made gf ap flour mix, I’d go for one that includes lighter flours and starches (e.g., rice flour, cornstarch, potato starch), is finely ground, and is loved by the gf community. Better Batter is a good one and they have a pate brisee recipe on their site. Or you could use individual flours and starches like Brittany of Real Sustenance does in her pate brisee/pie crust recipe. Xanthan gum is often needed for gf baking but, personally, I’d try it without first.
Jennifer Farley says
This is all very useful information!
Happy Valley Chow says
Those are beautiful and absolutely love the photography. Thanks for sharing :)