This Caramelized Onion Zucchini Galette is a wonderful way to showcase summer’s star vegetable. From a flaky pistachio crust to a filling that’s full of layers and flavors (ricotta? sweet caramelized onions? yes, please), this is a recipe you’ll surely be making every summer!
A buttery, rich, pistachio crust and a three-layer filling make up this gorgeous galette: starting with a layer of creamy ricotta, followed by sweet and nutty caramelized onions, then finally topped with thinly sliced zucchinis. Each element can be made ahead of time and come together at the time of baking. In essence, this galette is truly a celebration of the season’s best produce.
Caramelized Onion Zucchini Galette
There are plenty of zucchini galette recipes out there, but I wanted to take this one a step further. Zucchini and ricotta are a classic pair, so we’re not messing with that part. Their flavors complement each other really well and ricotta cheese is a great base for a galette since it keeps its shape in the oven and doesn’t melt, but becomes really soft and creamy.
So we’re not reinventing the wheel here, we’re just making things a little more interesting. When it comes to the tender, buttery, rich crust, we’re elevating it by adding pistachios. It’s a little trick I like to use whenever I make galettes. The pistachios add a subtle nuttiness to the dough, making it slightly more complex and even more delicious. It’s a small detail that makes a big difference.
Between the layers of the herby ricotta and the fresh zucchini, we’re adding caramelized onions. The goal here is to take a somewhat mild recipe and add a layer of flavor bomb basically. Caramelizing the onions brings out their umami flavors. The process transforms the natural sugars in onions into sweeter, more complex compounds. The result is a flavor profile that is very distinct from the sharp, pungent taste of raw onions.
Their jam-like consistency blends with the creaminess of the ricotta, resulting in a filling that’s far more nuanced in flavor than just a traditional ricotta filling. Together, all the layers conspire to form a delicate, complex, and yet cohesive galette: the nuttiness of the crust complements the nuttiness of the onions that go really well with the mild ricotta that merges with the jammy onions that in turn impart a lot of flavors to the zucchini that soaks everything up like a sponge. You get the point.
A Note for the Picky Eater
My whole life, I have always been quite the opposite of a picky eater. I was the kid eating weird seafood at the buffet and enjoying it.
Now, it appears zucchini is a bit of a controversial vegetable. If you’re like me, you’re delighted in the fact that zucchini is such a crafty vegetable: it makes wonderful fritters and pasta sauce, and in the summer, when it’s in peak season, it’s excellent galette material.
If you’re one of those people who hate zucchini, my tip for you is: try serving it with foods that make anything better, like lots of butter! Galettes need lots of butter for a nice flaky crust, and when you top it with zucchini, they bake down to such thin little things you’ll hardly notice they’re there. Zucchini is 95% water, after all. The rest is butter.
You’d think you can’t improve on a flaky butter crust, but there is a way and that is called adding ground pistachios to said flaky butter crust. That, plus a layer of ricotta, then a layer of caramelized onions, and the zucchini is really just a tiny part of this operation. Insignificant!
Like I’ve mentioned over and over again on this post, this caramelized onion zucchini galette is made up of many parts, but the great thing about it is that they each can be prepared in advance then just put together when you’re ready to bake. The crust can live in the freezer for a very long time, and although caramelizing the onion is painfully slow, it’s mostly passive. You really don’t have to do much other than stir it every once in a while.
One Last Tip
Once the galette is perfectly golden and out of the oven, you’ll be glad you went through the whole process and overcome your fear of zucchini. When you get there, I highly suggest drizzling your galette with hot honey. It’s the icing on the cake!!
And speaking of hot honey, there’s something else that makes anything better: hot honey. It’s such a simple solution to so many bland dishes. Which is obviously not the case here, because as we’ve discussed thoroughly, this galette is entirely interesting and not at all bland, so the hot honey is just here for that extra kick.
Well, I hope I have changed your mind about zucchini, and I hope you try this wonderful caramelized onion zucchini galette. If you give it a try, please let me know in the comments!
Ingredients
- Pistachio Crust:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 pistachios
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup ice water
- Caramelized Onions:
1 tbsp butter
2 medium onions, halved and sliced
sea salt
- Ricotta Layer:
1/2 cup ricotta
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 tbsp heavy cream
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp dill, chopped
2 large zucchinis, sliced
salt and black pepper
olive oil, for drizzling
1 egg, beaten to blend
hot honey, optional
flaky salt, optional
Directions
Make the crust: Pulse the pistachios in a food processor or a blender until coarsely ground.
Add ground pistachios, flour, salt, and sugar to a large bowl, and mix to combine. Add cold butter and using your fingertips, flatten and rub the cold butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (this technique is known as "cutting in butter". Coating the flour with fat helps create a tender and flaky texture. You want to do it quickly so the butter doesn't melt and the dough remains cold.)
Gradually add in the ice water. Mix with your fingers until the dough comes together. Form the dough into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and put in the refrigerator. Chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight. (The dough is chilled in the refrigerator for a few important reasons: to hydrate the flour, relax the gluten, and firm up the butter. This results in a crust that's tender, flaky, easier to roll out and less likely to shrink during baking!)
Caramelize the onion: melt the butter in skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes, or until starting to soften.
Add the salt, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every once in a while, or until the onions are golden brown and caramelized. The timing will depend on the size of your onions and the heat of your stove. Keep an eye on your onions and add a small amount of water to the pan whenever the onions start to stick or brown unevenly. This step can be made ahead of time and the caramelized onions kept in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Slice the zucchini into thin slices and lay them out on a work surface or a cutting board. Sprinkle with salt and let stand while you caramelize the onions. The salt will draw extra moisture out of the zucchini. Pat them dry with paper towels.
Make the ricotta mix: In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, parmesan, garlic, dill; season with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to an 12” round and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Using a spoon or offset spatula, spread the ricotta mixture over dough, leaving a 1” border.
Spread the caramelized onions evenly over ricotta layer. Scatter 1 tbsp dill evenly over.
Top with zucchini slices. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Fold edges of dough over filling, tucking and overlapping as needed. Brush crust with egg.
Bake galette until crust is golden brown and zucchini is soft, 35-45 minutes.
Drizzle with hot honey and top with chopped dill. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and serve.
Great Read –
Stay Blessed – Mel
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Thank you!
I made this and it’s so good! I love the pistachio crust
thank you so much!! The pistachio is a really nice touch:)
Can you prep the day before, and bake the day of?
Absolutely! You can prep everything ahead then assemble the day of. I would keep the dough in the freezer. Alternatively, you could also freeze the unbaked galette – although I haven’t tested it but I assume it would work fine.
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