Lately I've really caught the galette bug — not long ago I made a Cream Cheese and Apple Galette and Cream Cheese and Tomato Galettes. Well, today I tried a new variation — this time with zucchini! Since zucchini is pretty mild on its own, I added a generous amount of cheese. Any good melting cheese will work — something like Gouda, Havarti, or similar — just make sure it's real, quality cheese made from milk, not a processed cheese product. For an extra creamy note I added cream cheese, and to bind the filling together I used an egg and a little starch. And of course, spices — that's the most important part! Feel free to swap in whatever spices you like; let your taste and imagination be your guide. To make it look beautiful, I also arranged zucchini slices on top of the filling. The galette turned out absolutely delicious! A savory shortcrust pastry, a soft, fragrant, creamy-cheesy filling, and tender zucchini slices. So, so good! My daughter ate three slices on the spot and had her eye on her dad's portion too — I had to appeal to her conscience and remind her to think of others!
Ingredients:
- Dough:
- 200 g flour
- 100 g butter
- 1 egg
- a pinch of salt
- Filling:
- 350 g zucchini
- 120 g hard cheese
- 50 g cream cheese
- 1 tsp starch
- 1 egg
- salt, pepper
- spices to taste (I used marjoram, thyme, and garlic powder)
- 1 tsp olive oil (for the top)
How to cook cheese galette with zucchini
Add the cold egg and knead into a dough. Shape the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disk, and refrigerate for 30–40 minutes or longer.
Prepare the filling. Slice about one-third of the zucchini into very thin rounds — paper-thin, literally 1 mm, 2 mm at most! Grate the remaining zucchini on a coarse grater, sprinkle lightly with salt, and let sit for 5–10 minutes. Then wrap it in a double layer of cheesecloth, twist tightly, and squeeze out as much liquid as possible — really get it dry! Excess moisture has no place in this filling!
Add the coarsely grated hard cheese, cream cheese, egg, starch, and spices to the grated zucchini. Season with salt and pepper.
Shape the galette. Roll the dough out into a circle about 27 cm in diameter. I roll it directly on a sheet of parchment paper placed on an inverted baking sheet, since that's how I'll be baking it too.
Spread the filling over the dough, leaving a 3–4 cm border around the edges. Arrange the reserved zucchini slices on top. Sprinkle lightly with the same spices you used in the filling, then drizzle with olive oil.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (400°F) for about 20–30 minutes, or until lightly golden — every oven is different, so keep an eye on it. The finished galette can be served warm or fully cooled. Personally, I think it tastes best warm — the cheesy flavor really comes through, and the zucchini is almost undetectable; it reads more like a cheese tart, which is exactly why I named it that. Reheat leftovers in the microwave as needed!
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