The end-of-summer harvest is always so bountiful that I often find myself making a few pots of ratatouille to use up all the produce I haul home from the market. I add a creamy layer of ricotta to the bottom of this galette, which soaks up some of the juices from the vegetables as they cook. Use a pound of purchased puff pastry, if you prefer, and follow the directions below.

Ingredients:

Ratatouille Galette

1 recipe Rough Puff Pastry (recipe below), shaped into a single disk and chilled, or a double recipe your favorite pie dough, prepared as for Rough Puff Pastry, shaped into a disk, and chilled
283 g / 10 ounces whole-milk ricotta cheese (about 1 heaping cup)
33 g / 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for finishing
100 g / 2 small shallots, minced
10 g / 3 cloves garlic, minced
56 g / 1 large egg, lightly whisked
5 g / 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 g / 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 g / 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
2 g / 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
227 g / 8 ounces red bell pepper (1 large), quartered, stem, seeds, and ribs removed
227 g / 8 ounces yellow bell pepper (1 large), quartered, stem, seeds, and ribs removed
227 g / 8 ounces zucchini (1 medium), thinly sliced
227 g / 8 ounces summer squash (1 medium), thinly sliced
300 g / 101/2 ounces Italian eggplant (I medium), thinly sliced
227 g / 8 ounces tomatoes (2 medium), thinly sliced
30 g / 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon milk or cream
Chopped, torn, or small whole fresh basil and parsley leaves for garnish

Rough Puff Pastry

302 g / 21/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 g / 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
226 g / 8 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-inch / 19-mm cubes
75 g / 1/3 cup ice water, plus more as needed

Instructions:

Rough Puff Pastry

Makes Two 9-inch / 23-CM Crusts

Rough puff pastry is truthfully, almost as light, flaky, and delicious as traditional puff pastry, but with much less stress and effort. It’s incredibly versatile—great for free-form pies and mini pies especially. This makes a quantity similar to about 454g/1 pound of frozen puff pastry. Any of the pie dough recipes in this book can be rough-puff-ified by following the method below.

In a medium bowl, stir the flour and salt together to combine. Add the cubes of butter, tossing them through the flour until each individual piece is well coated. Cut the butter into the flour by pressing the pieces between your fingers, flattening them into big shards. As you work, continue to toss the butter through the flour, recoating the shingled pieces. The goal is to flatten each piece of butter only once, leaving the pieces very large (they will get smaller/more dispersed through the process of folding the dough).

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the ice water to the well and, using your hands, toss the flour with the water to start to mix the two together (this begins to combine them without creating too much gluten). As the flour begins to hydrate, you can switch to more of a kneading motion—but don’t overdo it, or the dough will be tough. Then add more water, about 1 tablespoon / 15 grams at a time, until the dough is properly hydrated. It should be uniformly combined and hold together easily, but it shouldn’t look totally smooth. Divide the dough in half and form each piece into a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch / 1 cm thick (the exact size/shape of the dough doesn’t matter here, just the thickness). Brush off any excess flour with a dry pastry brush, then fold the dough in half. Fold the dough in half again into quarters. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 15 to 30 minutes, until firm.

Repeat step 3 three more times: rolling out the dough, folding it, and chilling it each time before continuing. If you work quickly, you can sometimes do two rounds of folds back to back, but if the dough is soft or sticky, don’t rush it.

Once the final fold is completed for each piece of dough, tuck the edges of the dough under to help form it into a rounded shape, then wrap again and chill for at least 30 minutes before using.

MAKE AHEAD AND STORAGE

The tightly wrapped disks of dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil, the dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using.

To make the Ratatouille Galette:

Roll the dough: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a round, 15 to 16 inches / 38 to 41 cm wide and 1/4 inch / 6 mm thick. Use the rolling pin to transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, unfurling it onto the pan—the edges may hang over the pan at this point, but you’ll fold them over later. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

In a medium bowl, stir the ricotta, Parmesan, shallots, garlic, egg, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper until well combined. Set aside.
Cut the bell peppers into pieces about the same width as the zucchini and squash slices.

Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C with a rack in the lower third (preferably with baking steel or stone on it).

When the oven is hot, remove the crust from the fridge and uncover it. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the center of the dough and spread it into an even layer, leaving a 1 1/2-inch / 4-cm border uncovered all around. Arrange the vegetables in concentric circles over the ricotta mixture, overlapping the slices tightly and alternating types of vegetables as you work. Drizzle the olive oil evenly over the vegetables and season with more salt and pepper.

Fold the excess dough up over to encase the filling, pleating it as needed. Brush the exposed dough with egg wash and sprinkle grated Parmesan generously over it.

Bake the galette until the crust is deeply golden brown and the vegetables are tender for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving warm, or cool completely and serve at room temperature. Garnish with basil and parsley just before serving.