What can I say? Tomatoes, zucchini, basil, garlic; it doesn’t get any better at the height of summer! Someone once said that “what grows together, goes together.” I definitely agree. This pie can be served hot or warm, makes a great summer meal accompanied by a salad. Pass the wine please! And…it’s vegetarian!
Makes 6 Servings
For the Filling:
1 cup ricotta cheese
½ cup grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs (see below)
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
1 egg, beaten
¼ tsp. each salt & freshly ground black pepper
3 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 zucchini, thinly sliced (I prefer Romanesco, the light green ones with grooves)
1 Tbsp. EVOO
2 Tbsp. small fresh basil leaves
For the Roasted Garlic Pastry:
1 whole head garlic
2 tsp. EVOO
1 ¾ cups unbleached flour
¼ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
½ cup ice-cold shortening (non-hydrogenated if you can)
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. distilled white vinegar
Ice water
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Remove a small amount off the top of the garlic, exposing the garlic cloves. Place the whole head of garlic onto a piece of tin foil; drizzle with the EVOO and enclose within the tin foil. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until soft. Cool slightly and squeeze the garlic into a small glass bowl. Set aside.
Make the Crust:
Mash the garlic with a fork; whisk in egg yolk, vinegar and enough ice water to make 2/3 cup, place in the fridge to keep cold. In a medium sized bowl, stir together flour, salt and pepper. Using a pastry blender cut in shortening until crumbly; set aside. OR do this step in the food processor, being careful not to over-process; remove to a medium sized bowl. I’d be tempted to use frozen shortening if using the processor. Sprinkle egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture, tossing with a fork until dough holds together. Press into a disc; wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to two days.
Preheat oven to 450 F.
Make the Pie:
In a medium sized bowl, stir together ricotta, Pecorino cheese, breadcrumbs, chopped basil, egg, salt and pepper.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin, into a 14” circle; place onto a 12” round pizza pan , allowing the dough to overhang the pan.
Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the pastry, leaving a 2” border. Top with alternating slices of zucchini and tomato, overlapping slices. Brush with EVOO and fold pastry border over filling, pleating as you go around the pie.
Bake in bottom third of the oven for about 30 minutes or until crust is golden. Let stand for at least 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil leaves. Cut into slices and serve hot or warm.
Helpful link to Making Breadcrumbs.
Can I use lard for the crust. I no longer use shortening. Butter, lard or bacon fat for us, going back to the good old days of our parents!
Hi…know what you mean..so do we…I specified non-hydrogenated shortening…so this could be completely vegetarian. I normally use a combination of butter and lard and now, as you say, back to the bacon fat (only from really good bacon though) and duck fat or goose fat too. And I remember giving all of that to mom for her to feed the birds!!! Perhaps like most of the crusts I make, half butter and half lard. BTW if you can get your hands on some lard from a butcher to make a crust you might be surprised at the difference! We were!
I used to get my lard from The International Sausage House for free! But now with the demise of that I am out on a limb. Maybe I will ask at Whole Foods if they have lard. They process their own meat it appears and are really helpful in the meat department. And yes, I agree, big difference in how the crust turns out. Much softer and less solid than Tenderflake and less variability in the final product. I wish we had a butcher in the area, hate to drive all the way to Hastings.
Amazing how we are reverting to our parents’ ways. But if you start washing your foil and reusing it, look out. And no plastic bags and elastic bands around everything. Then you are ready for the men in white coats. That is my absolute limit. I told my friend that if she started doing that I would no longer be able to be her friend. She catches herself doing it sometimes, then remembers my words and stops. Wasn’t just our Mom, my Mother-in-law did it too. Why, why, why???
The war! Actually, I keep both my baby camera, and little radio in a bag in my purse…just to keep the dust off them! No elastic bands on my wallet (yet) though! I’m surprised there isn’t a butcher around you somewhere…these “hipster” butchers are springing up all over the place. No foil washing or saving either…that’s just not on!