A delicious Summery meal: creamy whipped feta with a touch of honey and lots of chives, fresh marinated zucchini and toasted pine nuts.
Course Brunch, First course
Cuisine European
Keyword all purpose, butter, chives, feta, Pie, Pie crust, pine nuts, Zucchini
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 45 minutesminutes
Chill for 1 hourhour
Servings 4people
Author Roberta
Equipment
Pie weights, beans, rice or another pie pan, to blind bake the crust
Tart pan with loose bottom
Mandoline slicer
Ingredients
For the crust:
2 ⅓ cupsAll purpose flour or 00 flour280 g
1.5stickVery cold unsalted butter170 g
4-5tablespoonsVery cold water
1 tablespoonFresh lemon juice
pinchSalt
For the marinated zucchini:
2Zucchini(depends on how big they are)
2tablespoonsExtra virgin olive oil
1.5tablespoonsFresh lemon juice
pinchSalt
For the whipped feta:
7 ouncesFeta cheese200 g
5.5ouncesCream cheese160 g
1tablespoonHoney
halftablespoonExtra virgin olive oil
1tablespoonFinely chopped chives
Pine nuts
Instructions
For the crust:
Cut the butter into very small pieces and place it into the freezer or fridge. The colder the better the result.
Into a mixer, combine flour, butter, icy water, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. I recommend adding the water gradually and adjust.
Pulse until you get a crumbly consistency (it looks like coarse almond meal). The secret is to work it very little so the butter doesn't melt.
Put the crumbly mixture on top of clingfilm, and work with your hands until you get a nice dough. Cover and let it chill in the freezer for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare zucchini and feta:
Clean your zucchini, then thinly slice them using a mandoline slicer (about 2 mm thick) and put them into a bowl with oil, lemon and just a pinch of salt.
Cover, set aside and let marinate (we will use these after the crust is baked and cooled).
Now into a food processor, put feta, cream cheese, oil and honey, and mix until you get a fluffy consistency (it takes a couple of minutes)
Add minced chives, cover and set aside.
Blind bake the crust:
Roll out the chilled dough using a rolling pin, it has to be about ⅓ inch thick.
Gently lift pastry and put it into the pie pan (diameter of the one I used was 8.6 inches on the very bottom - 9.4 inches on the largest top part).
Roll the rolling pin over top of pie pan to remove excess dough then, with a fork, pierce a few holes in the base.
Set aside into the freezer for about 10 minutes and in the meantime preheat your oven to 390° F (200° C).
Place some parchment paper with pie weights, beans, rice or another pie pan on top of the dough so it doesn't puff while baking, and bake for about 40-45 minutes until golden (keep an eye on it!)
Let it cool completely, then garnish with whipped feta, marinated zucchini and toasted pine nuts. Extra touch: a little bit more honey!