Courgette, Feta, Corn Galette
It’s the time of courgette bounties at the market at the moment, it seems like everyone has bought wayyy more than they know what to do with. And funnily, any way I turn there’s a food blogger telling you what to do with yours. I certainly do not mind. These veggies are versatile, delicious, cheap as chips and nutritious to boot. So I was happy to be able to try make as many of the delicious recipes that everyone was presenting.
Fritters? Check. Muffins? Check. Chocolate zucchini bread? Check. Sautéed and served alongside at a barbecue? Checked about 3 times so far.
I hadn’t tried a galette, though. Terrible oversight on my part. So last week, while debating on what to do with yet another pound of zucchini, I figured I could give them the lemon zest-feta treatment. That tends to go over well with most things.
I gathered round a few other veggies and herbs in the fridge, whipped up a quick dough with the extra kick of piment d’espelette and declared this dinner one I will make again and again.
Making this into a galette means you’re in for even less fuss than with a tart - the dough bakes at the same time as veggies deeply roast and, as the veggies will have been pre-cooked, there won’t be much liquid that could ruin the bottom.
Feta brings saltiness and bite and the corn…I’m not sure there’s any food in the world that can’t be made better by adding corn.
I served this with a dollop of garlicky, minty yoghurt - an inspiration from an old fritter recipe, but that is entirely up to you. We also had a heirloom tomato salad to go with it as well as some ripe melon from the market with mint and prosciutto. A glass of crisp white or rosé wine would round off nicely this al fresco meal.
Ingredients (serves 4 as a hearty main, 6 as an entrée)
For the dough - adapted from Smitten Kitchen
150g flour
115g butter, very cold, cubed
1 tsp piment d’espelette (or chilly flakes)
1/4 tsp salt
50ml (4 tbsp) sour cream
For the filling
2 small courgettes, about 400g - different colours would be nice here - chopped into 1cm cubes
2 ears of corn, husked
1 bunch spring onions
1/2 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
180g feta
zest of one lemon
1 clove of garlic, thinly sliced
For the garlic yoghurt - adapted from Bon Appétit
½ cup plain or Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
1garlic clove, finely grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Start by making your dough: in the bowl of a food processor add the flour, salt, butter and piment d’espelette or chilly flakes. Pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sour cream and pulse again until the mixture starts coming together into a ball - you will want the dough to just hold together.
Take the dough out and shape it roughly into a flattened disc. Wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge until ready to use - 30 minutes or so is ideal, 10 minutes in the freezer will also do nicely instead.
Preheat your oven at 180 degrees Celsius, fan.
For the veggie filling: in a large pan start by sautéing the sliced green onions (white and light green parts only) for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and let it cook for about one minute before adding the cubed courgettes and corn kernels. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables have softened and have char spots. Transfer to a large bowl to cool, add the lemon zest.
For the assembly take your dough out of the fridge and unwrap it on a floured surface. I like to place the parchment paper I will use anyway on top and roll the dough through it. It makes for much easier transfer. Your dough sheet should be 2-4mm thick.
Mix the vegetables and feta in the bowl then tip everything in the middle of your dough (make sure by now it’s places on the baking sheet that will go directly in the oven). Bring the sides of the dough towards the centre until you have a galette shape. The beauty of this is it doesn’t have to be perfect, galettes are meant to be rustic. Sprinkle with the raw chopped almonds.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, until the vegetables are deeply roasted, the crust is light golden brown and the almonds have toasted.
For the garlicky yoghurt mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve warm or at room temperature with a salad and a chilled glass of wine. I promise you this will be one of the best summer meals you’ve had.
If you make it, do let me know in the comments and subscribe for more recipes straight in your inbox!
