Freeform Zucchini-Ricotta Tart

This recipe is unabashedly inspired by this one at Smitten Kitchen. (She's much better at shaping round, tidy galettes than I am.) I used the cheeses I had on hand, though, and wanted to do a sturdier, less-rich crust. Hence, yogurt pastry! Yes, you can make pastry with flour and yogurt instead of flour and butter (I was shocked). Note that it's not a substitute for butter pastry -- it's its own thing altogether: crisp, sturdy, tasty, a little more bread-y. Takes more work to chew, but for a savory galette or tart like this for an everyday meal, I think it' s better. (Now, if it's a special occasion, use the butter pastry!)

Freeform Zucchini-Ricotta Tart

Pastry:
1 2/3 cup white flour
1/3 cup cornmeal, plus more for sprinkling
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
2-5 tbsp water
1 egg (white, yolk, or whole beaten, your choice) for glazing

Filling:
1 medium zucchini (or a small pattypan squash and 3/4 zucchini), sliced thinly
1/2 cup ricotta (fat free is fine; you're mixing it with other cheeses anyway)
1/3 cup finely crumbled Rio Grande brand queso duro (or Parmesan, etc.)
1/4 cup grated Monterrey Jack cheese
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
pepper to taste
1 tsp olive oil

To make the pastry: mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the yogurt and mix together with your hands as if you were cutting butter into flour (which I usually do by hand)-- keep working it with your fingers until you get a mixture that looks like many small peas. At this point, try squeezing it together to see if it will make a ball. If not, add cold water by the tablespoon until it does. Form into a ball and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Spread the sliced zucchini on paper towels, sprinkle lightly with salt, and add another layer of paper towels. Let sit about a half hour. Dry zucchini.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, queso duro, Monterrey Jack, basil, and pepper. Sprinkle a large nonstick cookie sheet generously with cornmeal. Roll out the dough as thin as you can, into a circle larger than 12 inches in diameter. (If the dough is too thick, it will not cook all the way through.) Spread the cheese filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 1.5 inch margin. Arrange the zucchini slices, shingled, in concentric circles; drizzle with the olive oil. Fold the edges over, pleating them so that they stay. Brush the dough with egg. Bake about 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Serves 4 alongside a good salad; 2 if you're really hungry and not having any side dishes.