Courgette Tart with Lemon Ricotta

Step 1

Remove your pie crust from the fridge. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface until is is about 0.5 cm thick. Transfer this to your tart pan, trim the edges, but leave about 0.5 cm of crust over the top of the edges, because the crust will shrink. Chill the in the fridge while you prepare the other ingredients.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Step 3

In a small bowl, grate in the zest from the lemon and the three garlic cloves. Add in the ricotta, honey, red pepper flakes, and the leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Step 4

Cut the tops off of the courgettes and use a mandolin to thinly slice them into long strips. Then cut those strips in half down the middle, giving you two even slices to layer in the tart. Set these in a large bowl and toss with just a pinch of salt and pepper.

Step 5

In another small bowl, whisk together a healthy glug of olive oil and the juice from one lemon. Add the remaining thyme leaves and set this aside.

Step 6

Remove the crust from the fridge and top it with a sheet of parchment paper. Add in your baking beans or marbles to weigh the crust down (you can also skip this if you don't have baking beans and just bake without weighing down the tart dough, it's just an extra helpful trick!). Put the crust in the oven to bake for 18-20 minutes at 375°F.

Step 7

When the tart shell is halfway baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Then spread the ricotta on the bottom of the tart. Layer in the zucchini slices with the skin side up, doing it in concentric circles (see blog image for reference).

Step 8

Once the courgettes are layered to your liking, brush with the lemon juice and olive oil mixture, sprinkle with more salt, pepper and thyme leaves as you see fit, and bake for 25-30 minutes at 375°F.

Step 9

The tart will be ready when the crust is a deep golden brown and the courgettes have shrunken slightly and darkened on the tops. Let cool for a few minutes before serving!