Zucchini, ricotta and goat cheese tart

Carmen, author of Recetas de Tia Alia, brings us a savory tart that is as delicious as it is eye-catching: the zucchini tart recipe with ricotta and goat cheese. A wonderful combination in a very easy-to-make recipe that you'll really enjoy at home!

There are recipes that win you over at first sight, as is the case with this zucchini, ricotta and goat cheese tart. Its spiral presentation is visual, attractive and very enticing. Placing it on the table and hearing admiring comments are two things that go hand in hand, something all of us who cook like to hear. Because cooking amuses us and we love that it brings happiness to our loved ones. Yes. But having our work and time recognized makes us wildly happy.

Putting aesthetics aside, the flavor of this zucchini, ricotta and goat cheese tart is wonderful. It's amazing that with so few and such humble ingredients you can achieve such a delicious result. The texture of the crust is perfect, firm enough not to crumble when cut, yet crumbly in the mouth. And the filling. What can be said about the filling? Juicy, smooth and flavorful. We liked this tart so much that we can only encourage you to make it right away and tell us what you think. We look forward to your comments.

Emile Henry 28 cm round ceramic dish, Oxo mandoline and Laura Ashley cloth and plates

INGREDIENTS (for 6 people)

For the shortcrust pastry:

• 250 g wheat flour
• 125 g very cold butter
• 2 M eggs
• Half a teaspoon of salt

For the filling:

• 3 zucchinis
• 200 g ricotta cheese
• 100 g goat cheese
• 3 M eggs
• Salt
• Ground black pepper

Emile Henry 28 cm round ceramic dish, Oxo mandoline and Laura Ashley cloth and plates

PREPARATION

1. With a sharp knife and on a cutting board, we chop the butter (which must be very cold) into small cubes.
2. In a deep and wide bowl we place the wheat flour and salt, stir and add the butter cubes. We mix with our hands until we achieve a crumb-like texture with no large lumps; this will only take a few minutes. Next we add the eggs, previously beaten, and mix again. Finally we transfer the dough to a clean work surface and knead until all ingredients are well integrated.
3. We spread the dough with our hands, forming a circle the size of the pan in which we will bake our zucchini, ricotta and goat cheese tart. I used the Emile Henry 28 cm round ceramic dish diameter, but you can use any other ovenproof dish suitable for baking and specific for this kind of preparation.
4. We place the shortcrust circle on the base of the dish and stretch it with our fingers, gently, bringing some of the dough to the edges to cover part of the side. The dough doesn't need to reach the top; reaching halfway is sufficient.
5. We finish the edge of the dough to make it look attractive. This is very easy to do: simply pinch the edge with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand on the inner side of the dough, and press with the index finger of the right hand on the outer side. This way we form decorative waves and give body to the edge of the pastry.
6. Once the shortcrust is ready, we place the dish in the refrigerator and let it chill for 30 minutes. This ensures the base won't shrink or deform when baking the tart.
7. Meanwhile we prepare the filling and, for this, in a deep bowl we beat the eggs and ricotta cheese. We crumble the goat cheese, add it and mix well with metal whisks trying to leave as few lumps as possible. Season with salt and pepper to taste, keeping in mind that the goat cheese already has some salt so as not to overdo it.
8. We wash the zucchinis and dry them. If they are very long, we cut them in half. Otherwise that won't be necessary. We use a mandoline to slice the zucchinis lengthwise. If we don't have a mandoline, we can do it by hand with a very sharp knife. The important thing is that the zucchini slices are about 1.5 mm thick so they can be folded without issue.
9. We cut the zucchini slices in half lengthwise and set them aside.
10. Once the shortcrust has rested, we remove the dish from the refrigerator and pour the filling inside. We spread it well over the entire surface, making sure it doesn't reach the edge of the dough so that when placing the zucchini the filling doesn't overflow.
11. We take a zucchini slice, roll it up, and place it in the center of the dish.
12. We take another zucchini slice and roll it around the first. We repeat the same operation with the rest of the zucchini slices until the entire dish is covered. This is a task that requires patience, but no special skill. It becomes easier as you progress, because the spiral, as it gets larger, is more accommodating to fill, and because you gain practice.
13. Now just lightly season the surface of the tart with salt and pepper and bake in a preheated oven at 200ºC with top and bottom heat for 45-50 minutes. Place the dish in the lower part of the oven so the base dough doesn't remain raw.
14. Once the zucchini, ricotta and goat cheese tart is ready, remove it from the oven and let it rest a few minutes before serving.

Emile Henry 28 cm round ceramic dish, Pallarès iron knife and Laura Ashley ceramic plates