A summer zucchini and silverbeet bath

flaky crostata pastry layered with onions, tinned fish and a zucchini salad

In summer, when vegetable beds are heavy with firm zucchini, I often have them on the menu at the restaurant and also at home shaved into ribbons and thrown into a pan of pasta. Sometimes they get sliced into rounds as thick as an iphone and browned on a very hot pan. I like when the zucchini remains firm and with bite. From the hot pan they might get tucked between fresh cheese like mozzarella or tossed with chermoula, a moroccan spice paste, and eaten with marinated vegetables. Usually I like them shaved into ribbons and tossed with little more than good olive oil, flaky salt and a beautiful vinegar.

Recently I took it a step further and left the dark green zucchini ribbons to bathe together with raw silverbeet from the garden in a warm marinade of olive oil, fragrant garlic, red chilli and vinegar. By leaving the vegetables to have a bath in the warm liquids they give way slightly under the marinade, relaxing and loosening up, much like us in a tub of warm, soapy water. The zucchini strands stay crisp but soft enough to wrap around your tongue, and the silverbeet almost cooks under the warmth of the olive oil and acidity of the vinegar.

To the zucchini and silverbeet an assortment of green leaves, radish and soft herbs are added. I like a smaller crisp variety like the heart of a baby cos lettuce, along with something more tender like butterhead or red oak, also something more bold and peppery like rocket is nice. A combination of tarragon, dill, parsley, oregano and mint goes well. A lesson I learnt when rushing my mis prep before dinner service: leaves must be washed and dried very well otherwise the vinaigrette won’t stick to your leaves and you will be met with an ugly looking bowl of damp salad leaves that can’t be served. Buy a salad spinner or some absorbent kitchen towels to soak up the wet.

It seems I have written a lot about the zucchini and less about the pastry. I have written this recipe not so that you can make a nice summer side salad. That would be fine I guess, but it isn’t my point. I wrote it because the other day I had been thinking about flaky pastry covered with onions that slowly collapse inside a hot pan of butter and olive oil. And I felt like eating that with salty fish and a punchy salad. A pissaladière of sorts.

So I filled the buttery pastry with the collapsed onions to bake. Out of the oven and I laid over a few fillets of spanish sardines that came from a good tin (anchovies or mackerel would also be good). A few minutes before eating, the green leaves and radish meet the zucchini and silverbeet, rubbing everything together with clean fingers. The crostata pastry is covered with the greens. The marinade from the vegetables drip into the sardines and onions, creating a bright bite to balance the rich buttery onions and pastry. 

This crostata is a really good base for all sorts of fresh vegetables and salty things. When I was in Rome I made this onion pastry and covered it with full-flavoured tomatoes, oregano and pecorino. That recipe will be in my cookbook which will be out in May - you can pre order here. I won’t judge if you buy the pastry out of ease (I do this myself on occasion to save time), but the crostata pastry recipe below is a really nice one to make if you have the time.

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Flaky crostata pastry with onions, tinned fish and a zucchini salad

This crostata is fun and luscious, covered in savoury onions and topped with sardines and a chaotic and punchy zucchini, silverbeet and green salad. The bright marinade from the vegetables seeping into the rich onions to make everything feel like summer.

Sweat and caramelise the onions in butter. Once cooked make sure to cool them right down before laying them over the cold pastry. Afterwards, use that same pan to make an aromatic oil that you will pour over the zucchini and silverbeet. The warmth of the oil and vinegar will encourage the vegetables to relax into the marinade, and take on the toasty aroma of the garlic and chilli. If you can’t be bothered making the pastry recipe below, Carême sour cream shortcrust pastry is a very good store bought option.

Makes one crostata, to serve about 4

Crostata pastry dough

250g plain all purpose flour

50g pecorino, finely grated

125g unsalted butter, chilled and diced

75ml iced water mixed with 1 teaspoon apple-cider vinegar

1 egg

Onion filling

50g butter

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 onions, sliced in half then finely sliced

20g pecorino

1 tin good quality sardines

salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Aromatic oil

3 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed with the back of your knife

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

a lemon peel or two

About 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons red and white wine vinegar

salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Greens

3 medium zucchini, shaved into ribbons

1/2 bunch silverbeet, finely sliced into strips

a handful of dill and mint roughly chopped

1 shallot, finely sliced

Assortment of green leaves like baby cos lettuce, butterhead, red oak, rocket to make up about 100g leaves and a radish or two finely sliced

salt and freshly cracked black pepper

To begin making the filling

Heat the butter and olive oil in a heavy-based or cast iron saucepan over a low heat. Add the onions, season with a generous pinch of salt and stir, then leave them to cook slowly for about an hour until they are very soft and caramelised. Be patient; let them go slowly until golden.

Once the onions are cooked, transfer to a flat plate or tray and leave them to cool down completely.

To make the dough

Combine the flour, pecorino and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Add the chilled butter, then rub the flour and butter together with your fingertips until the cubes of butter are the size of baby peas and the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add enough of the iced water and vinegar to just bring the mixture together to form a dough (don’t overwork it). If the dough is dry, add more water a tablespoon at a time but be careful that it doesn’t get too sticky. Cover the dough, then leave it to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or ideally overnight.

To make the aromatic oil and greens

Put all the ingredients for the aromatic oil besides the lemon juice and vinegar in a pan and bring to a gentle simmer for a couple of minutes. Once fragrant and the garlic is golden turn off the heat under the pan and whisk in the lemon juice and vinegars. Place the zucchini, silverbeet, herbs and shallots (but not the leaves yet) into a bowl and pour the warm marinade over. Mix together with clean hands, season with flaky salt and pepper and taste. It should be bright and acidic, adjust with more vinegar or lemon juice as needed.

To construct and bake the crostata

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius.

If you are making this in a home oven, roll out the chilled pastry into a rough circle that is about 30cm in diameter. As you roll out, you will notice big chunks of butter throughout the dough - that is perfect, because those chunks will give the pastry a flaky, crisp texture. Line a baking tray with baking paper, then put the rolled-out pastry onto it.

Leaving a border about 5cm around the edge, spread the cooled onions in a thin layer over the pastry. Shave a light layer of pecorino over the onions. Season the onions with flaky salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Gently fold the edges of the pastry up over the onions, overlapping and crimping the pastry as you work your way around.

Beat the egg in a bowl, then paint the pastry with the egg wash. Bake the crostata for 20-30 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden.

Once the crostata is cooked, place the sardines over the onion in a lattice pattern.

A few minutes before you are ready to eat, add the combination of green leaves and radish into the zucchini and silverbeet bath and mix everything together thoroughly. Seasoning with a little more flaky salt and pepper. Place piles of the greens over the onion and sardine crostata. Eat as is, together with a crisp glass of wine.