lemon ricotta

Courgette Lemon Ricotta Spiral Tart

Layer lemon ricotta between zucchini and squash for this impressive fall dish.

This dinner is as beautiful as it is delicious. It’s easy, stunning, and impressive – pairing lemony honey ricotta with gorgeous green and yellow squash in a vegetable spiral of concentric beauty.

Tami Steggell shares the recipe for a Courgette Lemon Ricotta Spiral Tart. Before you think this recipe is super fancy, the term “courgette” is the British term, borrowed from the French, that refers to both summer and zucchini squash.

For more recipes and ideas from Tami, follow her on Instagram at @BiteMeIndustries.


 

Courgette Lemon Ricotta Spiral Tart

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 recipe failproof pastry (below)
  • 2 large zucchini (green)
  • 2 large summer squash (yellow)
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 lemon for zest and juice
  • 1 cup whole milk ricotta 226g/8oz
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 6 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 tbs Olive oil
  • Salt & fresh cracked black pepper as needed

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  2. Begin by preparing your failproof pastry crust (below). Roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it is about 1/4” thick and 12” round. Transfer this to your tart pan, trim the edges, but leave a bit of crust over the top of the edges, because the crust will shrink.
  3. Top the crust with a sheet of parchment paper and fill it with pie pearls or baking beans to weigh the crust down. Put the crust in the oven to bake for 18-20 minutes at 400°F/205°C on a baking sheet.
  4. When the tart shell is halfway baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes.
  5. In a small bowl combine, ricotta, grated zest from one lemon, add minced garlic cloves, honey, red pepper flakes, and the leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Set aside while your tart is cooling.
  6. Next, cut the tops off of the courgettes (zucchini + summer squash) and use a mandolin to thinly slice them into long strips, approx. 1/8” thick. Then cut those strips in half down the middle, into even halves for layering in the tart. Set these in a large bowl and toss with just a pinch of salt.
  7. In another small bowl, whisk together 2 tbs olive oil and the juice from one lemon. Add the remaining 3 sprigs of thyme leaves, mix, and set this aside.
  8. Spread the ricotta evenly on the bottom of the tart. Layer in the courgette slices with the skin side up, alternating green and yellow, parallel to the crust, arranging into concentric circles.
  9. Once the courgettes (zucchini + summer squash) are layered to the center, brush with the lemon juice and olive oil mixture, sprinkle with more salt, pepper and thyme leaves as you wish, and bake for another 20 minutes at 400°F/205°C
  10. The tart will be ready when the crust is a deep golden brown and the courgettes (zucchini + summer squash) have shrunken slightly and darkened on the tops. Allow to cool 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

 

Foolproof Pastry

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 1/2 cups (320g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 tbs sugar (28g)
  • 1 cup butter (227g) cold, cubed butter, salted or unsalted
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk + 1 tbs (127g)
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves

METHOD

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/205°C and place a rack in the center of the oven.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, salt, and cold butter (cut into small pieces) together for 10 pulses, until the mix is the size of small peas.
  3. Add the fresh thyme and cold buttermilk, in thirds, pulsing along the way, until crumbly but holds together when pinched. Do not over work the gluten.
  4. Lay down a clean tea towel on a work surface. Pour the crumbly dough mixture into the center. Grab the four corners of the towel together into a “beggars purse” and twist to create a dough ball, remove, press dough into a disk. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 12- or 13-inch round. Use as much flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. No need to refrigerate.
  5. Transfer to the tart pan. Mold into the shape of the pan, prick bottom lightly with fork. Cut off crust to top of pan. Line with parchment, fill with pie pearls, bake on 400° for 18-20 minutes. This will be par baked (baked half-way).
  6. After 18-20 minutes, pull out to cool, and start adding ricotta filling and courgettes to slightly cooled crust, as noted above on the main recipe. Return to oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes on 400°F/205°C

 

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 40 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins
Serves: 8 slices

 

EQUIPMENT

  • 1 10″ tart pan or pie dish
  • 1 mandolin
  • 1 sheet of parchment paper
  • 2 cup of pie pearls or baking beans
  • 1 Microplane grater or citrus zester