Ingredients
170g plain flour
Salt and pepper
150g unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
5 tablespoons iced water
400g zucchini or summer squash or both!
200g goat’s cheese
Olive oil – if you’re using Meredith Goat’s Cheese you can use the oil it’s marinated in.
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Zest of one small lemon, grated
Summary
This simple tart sings with goat’s cheese, thyme, lemon, zucchini and summer squash. At first we wanted to add extra ingredients, but we resisted temptation and did exactly as Ina Garten instructs; needless to say we were not disappointed. Each time we make a recipe with pastry we’re surprised by how easy it is to achieve and how quickly it comes together – embrace making pastry, or you could also use store bought, no shame in that! If you’d like to receive our recipes direct to your inbox every Saturday you can sign up here.
Squash and Goat’s Cheese Tart
Place the flour, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and the butter in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 12 to 14 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the processor running, pour in the vinegar first, then the ice water incrementally, until it just comes together – you may not need all the ice water. Dump out on a floured bench, form into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the zucchini/squash in a colander set over a plate. Toss it with 2 teaspoons of salt and set aside for 30 minutes. Spread the zucchini/squash out on a clean tea towel, roll it up, and squeeze gently to remove some of the liquid. Put the zucchini/squash slices into a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
With a fork, mash together the goat cheese, thyme, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
Roll the dough out on a floured bench to a 30cm circle that is evenly 0.5cm thick. Place pastry on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Spread the dough with the goat cheese mixture, leaving a 1cm border. Lay the zucchini/squash slices in tightly overlapping circles, starting at the very edge of the pastry (if you’ve got too many zucchini slices save them for a frittata or make a secondary ‘chef’s treat’ tart with the offcuts of pastry and zucchini). Drizzle the tart evenly with olive oil and season with pepper. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the dough is golden brown.
Cut in little wedges and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
