This Zucchini and Ricotta Tart recipe is an easy summer or early fall recipe celebrating seasonal zucchinis from your backyard or farmers market. The best part, it looks fancier than it is to prepare.
Context
I’m a fan of keeping things accessible in the summertime and any other time. That said, I also want to utilize all the wonderful summer vegetables at their peak.
That’s why this Zucchini and Ricotta Tart recipe works so well. It uses frozen puff pastry as the vehicle to eat with fresh in-season zucchini and cheese.
As I was researching recipes, I didn’t find many that I liked that used both puff pastry with zucchini and ricotta. While that was surprising, it was a fantastic way to stretch my cooking skills in writing this recipe.
Take a look below at my cooking pointers.
Recipe Notes
1. Cooking with puff pastry: You will need to defrost the frozen puff pastry before using it. The night before, put it in your fridge. Alternatively, you can leave it out at room temperature for 45 minutes to 1 hour. You will have two days to use it once defrosted and in your fridge. It’s essential to keep the puff pastry as cold as possible before putting it in the oven. If it starts to lose its coldness, don’t fret. Just pop the puff pastry in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before baking. It’s important not to undercook the tart. If the puff pastry doesn’t look golden brown at 20 minutes, bake it a few minutes longer until the desired color is achieved.
2. Packaged puff pastry comparisons: These are my two recommended frozen puff pastry brands.
Pepperidge Farm puff pastry (17.3 oz; 1.1 lb; 490 grams) – includes two sheets roughly 9″ square. I used the puff pastry from Pepperidge Farm for this recipe as it’s more cost-efficient. The recipe uses ONE puff pastry sheet. If you plan on using BOTH sheets, please double the filling amount in the recipe.
DuFour puff pastry (14 oz; 396.9 grams) – includes one large rectangular sheet. If it’s within your budget and available in your area, I highly recommend the DuFour puff pastry as it’s all-butter and delicious. If you plan to use this puff pastry, you won’t have enough filling to cover the entire surface. Follow the same instructions for the ricotta filling and zucchini slices except leave a wider border, about 2-3″. Fold the puff pastry border towards the filling and brush the puff pastry border with an egg wash. If you want to use the entire puff pastry surface, then increase the filling by half.
Rumor has it that Trader Joe’s has an all-butter puff pastry that is available in the fall or winter. I’ll be sure to check it out and report back. If anyone has tried it and recommends it, please let me know!
3. Zucchini: It is important to salt the zucchini slices to render as much liquid as possible before baking. Otherwise, you may end up with a soggy tart. I like using green zucchini for aesthetics, but if you have yellow or light green zucchini, that works well, too!
4. Cheese: I used ricotta cheese and a mixture of a Trader Joe’s Quattro Formaggio shredded cheese blend. Alternatively, you can replace the Trader Joe’s shredded cheese blend with parmesan or asiago.
5. Egg wash: This gives the puff pastry that nice golden shine as it bakes. I didn’t include it in the recipe as it seemed like a waste of an egg since it utilizes most of the puff pastry surface area. However, if you are using the DuFour puff pastry and plan to fold in the border, as mentioned in #2, I would recommend using an egg wash. (Egg wash = 1 egg scrambled with about a teaspoon of water mixed in.)
And finally
If you’re looking for a different way to eat zucchini, I recommend trying this Zucchini and Ricotta Tart recipe, especially if you like (or love) puff pastry, like me. It’s a perfect light meal (with a green salad) or appetizer that’s easy and budget-friendly. What I appreciate the most is that it’s one of those recipes that looks and tastes more impressive than it is to make, and I’m perfectly fine with that. Let me know what you think! Happy cooking, and bon appétit!
Recommended recipes: Herb Salad or Greek Salad recipe.
Zucchini and ricotta tart Recipe
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- 1 Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, defrosted
- 2 medium zucchinis sliced in coin slices
- 1 1/2 cup ricotta
- 1 cup Trader Joe's Quattro Formaggio Shredded Cheese or shredded parmesan or asiago cheese
- 2 Tbsp fresh dill minced
- 1 tsp fresh garlic minced
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 pinch kosher salt plus more for salting zucchini
- 1 pinch pepper
- Prepare all your ingredients—Preheat oven to 400° F degrees.
- Slice the zucchini in thin coin slices. Lay several layers of paper towels in a single layer on a large plate or work surface and sprinkle with salt. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow for liquid to render. After 30-minutes, pat dry.
- Place zucchini slices in a small bowl and drizzle about 1 tsp of olive oil and mix. Set aside close by.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine ricotta, cheese blend, minced garlic, minced dill, and salt and pepper pinch. Stir to combine.
- Dust work surface with flour and unfold cold defrosted puff pastry. (If puff pastry becomes room temperature, place it in the freezer for 5 minutes. It’s easier to work with it when it’s cold.) Smooth out fold marks with a rolling pin and place pastry on top of a rimmed cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Spread ricotta cheese mixture evenly on top of puff pastry, leaving about 1/2” border. (If using DuFour puff pastry, please see my comment in the Recipe Notes section above, #2.)
- Next, place zucchini slices on top of the ricotta cheese mixture, slightly overlapping each other in rows.
- Place tart in the lower rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until puff pastry is a golden color. Let cool for 5 minutes. Slice using a sharp knife and serve immediately. Enjoy!
- Prepare all your ingredients—Preheat oven to 400° F degrees.
- Slice the zucchini in thin coin slices. Lay several layers of paper towels in a single layer on a large plate or work surface and sprinkle with salt. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow for liquid to render. After 30-minutes, pat dry.
- Place zucchini slices in a small bowl and drizzle about 1 tsp of olive oil and mix. Set aside close by.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine ricotta, cheese blend, minced garlic, minced dill, and salt and pepper pinch. Stir to combine.
- Dust work surface with flour and unfold cold defrosted puff pastry. (If puff pastry becomes room temperature, place it in the freezer for 5 minutes. It’s easier to work with it when it’s cold.) Smooth out fold marks with a rolling pin and place pastry on top of a rimmed cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Spread ricotta cheese mixture evenly on top of puff pastry, leaving about 1/2” border. (If using DuFour puff pastry, please see my comment in the Recipe Notes section above, #2.)
- Next, place zucchini slices on top of the ricotta cheese mixture, slightly overlapping each other in rows.
- Place tart in the lower rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until puff pastry is a golden color. Let cool for 5 minutes. Slice using a sharp knife and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Ingredients | My cost |
|---|---|
| 1 Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, defrosted | $3.25 |
| 2 medium zucchinis | $2.00 |
| 1 1/2 cup ricotta | $1.99 |
| 1 cup grated Trader Joe's Quattro Formaggio Shredded cheese | $1.00 |
| 2 Tbsp fresh dill, minced | $0.25 |
| 1 tsp fresh garlic, minced | $0.18 |
| 1 tsp olive oil | $0.04 |
| salt and pepper | $0.02 |
Total: | $8.73 |
| Cost per serving: | $2.18 |
* Note regarding pricing: The price for items such as garlic considers the cost of the amount used for the recipe and not the cost if you had to purchase the entire item or container.
** All prices in US dollars and based on Bay Area prices from my local grocery and farmers market. Prices may vary by season or in other parts of the United States.
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