Tuesday didn’t go quite as planned.  Hurricane Isaias was moving up the coast and rain was predicted throughout the day, so instead of working in the garden, I planned on making this delicious Zucchini and Squash Blossom Galette and writing up the recipe for the blog. The dough was already thawed and rolled out into a 12″ perfectly round circle, the squash blossoms were cleaned and prepped, my lovely Sunrise Bumblebee tomatoes were sliced and I had already made the base of fresh ricotta mixed with garlic scape pesto.  I was just finishing giving the zucchini a light char in some olive oil when the power went out.  And it stayed out…for the next ELEVEN hours!

I suppose I could have formed the galette and put it in the fridge, but I had already come this far and I was determined to finish.  Why not bake it over indirect heat on the grill? What could go wrong?  So I fired up the two right burners on medium high and kept the three left burners off.  When the temperature gauge rose to 400 degrees, I placed the sheet pan on the left side, crossed my fingers and closed the lid.  I baked it for a 1/2 hour and thought is was done perfectly, however, when I attempted to slide my spatula under the galette, I realized that the bottom was almost completely raw.  I momentarily felt defeated, but then realized I should not give up.  I turned the burners back on, this time the three on the right side and set the flame to medium heat.  I set the sheet pan directly over the fire for 10 minutes, turning the pan around half way through and checking to make sure that the bottom was not burning.  It crisped up perfectly and no more soggy bottom!  It was not ideal, but certainly worked in a pinch.

Zucchini and Squash Blossom Galette

Makes 1 – 10″ Galette

1 refrigerated pie dough, rolled into a 12″ round

1/2 cup ricotta (We love Hillacres Pride!)

2 Tablespoons garlic scape pesto (Check out this recipe from my dear friends at Squared Roots Farm). Make a batch in the spring when scapes are available and freeze in Tablespoon size portions for use for the rest of the year. It’s so good!!! Squared Roots Farm will ship the scapes in season.

1 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds and sautéed lightly in olive oil with salt and pepper

4 – 6 squash blossoms, rinsed, stamens removed and gently torn into pieces

About a 1/2 cup of sliced or halved cherry tomatoes (I grew these Sunrise Bumblebees this summer and they are superb)

1 egg beaten with a Tablespoon of water

Basil leaves, julienned

Preheat oven (or grill- set up for indirect grilling) to 400 degrees.  Place the dough on a lightly greased sheet pan.  Spread ricotta and garlic scape mixture on the dough, leaving a 2″ border.  Layer zucchini slices in a concentric circle starting from the center of the dough over the ricotta mixture and then dot the tomato slices and squash blossoms sporadically.  Turn the edges of the galette up and over the filling and fold pleats every inch and a half to make a border.

Brush the edge of the dough with the egg wash and place the sheet pan in the oven or “cool” side of the grill and bake for 30 minutes.

If you are using the oven, check the bottom of the galette and if it is not crisp and lightly browned, spin the pan and bake for another 10-15 minutes.  If you are trying the grill method, slide the baking sheet directly over the flames and keep cooking for another 10 minutes over medium heat.  Check after 5 minutes and spin the pan to ensure even baking.

Allow the galette to cool on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes, garnish with basil and then cut into pie wedges and enjoy!