Zucchini Ricotta Tart
Light and crispy puff pastry smeared with creamy herby ricotta and topped with fresh zucchini slices. Light and satisfying!
End of summer is all about fresh garden produce. And our ranch garden is booming with beets, cucumbers, cabbages, and CORNS! Oh my gosh, so much sweet corns. I’ve been eating corn on the cob every day for the last week.
Grilled, buttered, seasoned, every way imaginable. Not bored yet.
But soon, I’ll move on to corn fritters, and other creative ways to cook them. What is your favorite way to cook corn? Share your favorite sweet corn recipe in the comments below. I’d love to try them.
This post isn’t about corns though. Zucchini is the star of the show today. I bet you have a fresh zucchini hidden somewhere in your fridge. It seems to me that everyone gets zucchini this time around. It’s such a staple in the garden. If you haven’t planted them, your neighbor probably did. Or something like that, right?
Today’s zucchini ricotta tart is inspired by Ina Garten’s “Make It Ahead” cookbook. I say “inspired”, because I changed a lot of things in the original recipe, from crust to the filling, but I was truly inspired by the simplicity and beauty of the dish.
There is nothing like a pie crust from scratch, but I opted to use frozen puff pastry for my tart. 1. It’s effortless. 2. It saves a lot of time. 3. And it’s equally crispy and light!
For slightly more beautiful presentation, I made zucchini twists, instead of rounds. But it’s totally optional, you can simply cut yours into rounds. I think it’ll still be beautiful.
As my husband isn’t a huge goat cheese fan, I made ricotta spread infused with parsley, which gives the spread that beautiful green tint, and of course, flavor.
Serve this tart hot, warm, or even at room temperature. It’s delicious either way.
It makes perfect light lunch on a hot summer day, or a great side dish, or even a snack.
Hope you’re inspired by this beautiful tart. Thank you for reading!
Zucchini Ricotta Tart
Light and crispy puff pastry smeared with creamy herby ricotta and topped with fresh zucchini slices. Light and satisfying!
Yield: 3-4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 medium zucchini
- 2 teaspoons salt, plus 1/8 teaspoon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup (130gr) ricotta cheese
- 1 handful parsley leaves
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 Puff pastry sheet, thawed
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 egg yolk
Directions:
- Cut the ends of the zucchini. Cut it lengthwise half way through (see photo above). And then thinly slice the zucchini. Place them in a colander and gently toss with 2 teaspoons of salt. Let it sit for about 30 minutes. This method sweats the zucchini and helps to get rid of excess water. Now, gently squeeze the zucchini slices between your palms in small batches and place them in a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and set aside.
- While the zucchini is sweating, place the ricotta, parsley, lemon juice and 1/8 teaspoon of salt in a food processor. Pulse until nice and smooth and the mixture is light green.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Unfold the puff pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. With a sharp knife, score the pastry about ¼ inch from the edges to create a border. Be careful not to cut all the way through though.
- Spread the ricotta mixture evenly on the crust inside the border. Arrange the zucchini slices on the crust twisting each slice for a beautiful presentation. (If desired, simply lay the zucchini slices overlapping halfway.) Sprinkle some ground black pepper all over.
- In a small dish, mix the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of water to make an egg wash. Brush the egg wash on the edges of the tart. Bake the tart for 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is puffed up and golden brown. Cool on wire rack for 5-10 minutes before serving.
For step-by-step photos and additional notes, read the post above.
Inspired by Ina Garten’s “Make It Ahead” cookbook.
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Can this be made ahead?
Hi, Iris. I’d recommend baking the tart before serving. You can assemble the tart up to 4 hours ahead though.
This is EXACTLY the recipe I was looking for! I have a question though, when you salt the zucchini, do you rinse it after as it is a lot of salt, and I feel like it would taste quite salty as well. I want to make this for Mother’s Day brunch in a few days!
Hi, Monika! So glad you found what you were looking for. I never had to rinse the zucchini. When you squeeze out the excess liquid, most of the salt also goes with it. Now I’m not really sensitive to salt, so if you want to, you could rinse and the squeeze out the liquid. Hope you’ll enjoy this tart.
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to make it this weekend! Thanks for linking up to This is How We Roll Linky Party!
Thank you for stopping by, Andrea!
What a great way to enjoy the summer zucchini! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Thank you, Karly!
This looks absolutely delicious! I love zucchini and have never make a recipe quite like this. I’m pinning it so that I can make it very soon!
Visiting from Showcase Your Talent 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Lisa!
Shinee, this just looks divine! I adore baked ricotta and zucchini, and this marries the two beautifully. Love, Mimi xxx
Thanks, Mimi!
This looks absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to try it–zucchini is one of my favorites!
Thank you, Karoline! Let me know how you liked, if you get a chance to try the recipe. 😉
Oh my, YES! This looks like such a lovely appetizer or snack, not to mention the perfect way to use the abundance of zucchini I seem to keep finding myself with… Pinning and can’t wait to try it! #SuperSaturday
Thank you, Kathryn! Glad you like the recipe!
Delicious! Love the creamy ricotta and pop of color from the healthy zucchini 🙂
Thank you, Medha!
My whole family L.O.V.E.S. zucchini! I will absolutely have to try this. They will love me (and you) for making this tart. It’s only 9:50 am and I’m craving lunch already.
Haha thanks, Lorena!
This looks SO good, Shinee! I saw the recipe in Ina’s book when I bought it and its also been on my must-try list for awhile now. Your version looks so delicious too. And so awesome that you have grown all those veggies. I love grilling sweet corn, then shaving and tossing it with some zucchini chunks that have been sauteed in butter, onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Then I garnish it with finely grated parmesan before eating 🙂
Oh, I can’t take credit for the garden. My husband and MIL are the one who grew all the produce. 🙂 We just made the similar dish that you described the other day. It had a Mexican name, that I can’t remember now, but we didn’t grill the corn. I will try that next time. It was so buttery and delicious.
This recipe looks delicious. I have been experimenting with tarts and fruit but this zucchini tart takes my breath away. Looks wonderful.
Thanks, Ali!