To make savory pies with zucchini, let's start from the basics. You are just in time for Memorial Day Weekend!
You can use puff pastry or ready-made traditional pie dough. If you prefer to make it yourself, on the other hand, use your favorite pie dough recipe. Though the process may take a little longer, freshly made dough creates so much satisfaction. Here’s our recipe for classic puff pastry with a video of the traditional pie dough recipe.
You can also add spices like curry, turmeric, or fresh herbs like basil, thyme, or parsley to the dough – all these go very well with zucchini.
Zucchini Savory Pie with Bacon
Fry some zucchini in a pan greased with a little oil. Add diced speck, chopped parsley, a pinch of black pepper, and a pinch of salt. Cover with a lid and cook for a few minutes. Then uncover in order to allow the water from the zucchini to slowly evaporate. Once ready, let zucchini cool and add heavy cream, an egg and a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese.
Roll out the pie dough into a baking dish, prick it with the prongs of a fork and fill it with the batter. Cook at 350°F for about 30 minutes.
Zucchini Savory Pie with Ricotta
Dice some zucchini and add to a pan with oil, salt, and mint. Let cool and mix with some ricotta and parmesan cheese. Roll out a sheet of puff pastry dough into a high-sided baking pan, prick it with the prongs of a fork and fill it with the mixture of zucchini and ricotta. Cover with another layer of puff pastry and cook for about 40-45 minutes at 350°F.
Zucchini Savory Pie with Pancetta and Gorgonzola
Fry zucchini in a pan with some pancetta or cubed bacon and very little oil (the fat released from the bacon is almost enough as is) Add some chopped green onion. Spread mixture into pie dough and finish with diced gorgonzola. Bake for about 30 minutes 350°F.
Vegetarian Zucchini Savory Pie with Carrots
Mix 7 oz ricotta cheese with one egg, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Spread this mixture over the rolled and pitted puff pastry dough. Using a potato peeler, make strips of ‘courgettes’ with the carrots, placing them vertically (standing up) onto the ricotta cream; you want to form concentric circles. Finish with a pinch of salt, a drizzle of oil, and bake in the oven at 350°F for about 30 minutes.
Savory Zucchini Pie with Stracchino
Roll out a sheet of puff pastry dough in a springform cake pan and bake blind for 10 minutes. In the meantime, peel some ribbons from one or two zucchini and prepare a batter with two eggs, a cup of heavy cream, a pinch of salt, pepper, and turmeric. Pour this batter into the puff pastry dough and decorate with ribbons of zucchini and cherry tomatoes cut in half. Cook for another 10 minutes and add some chunks of soft stracchino cheese. Finish cooking; as soon as the cheese melts, decorate immediately with plenty of fresh basil.