Galettes, sweet and savoury

Galettes. My latest obsession. Those of you who don't know me well, know that I can be pretty obsessive. If I like something, I go all out. And I do mean ALL out. This applies to food (I've had a cupcake phase, a pasta phase, a pastry phase and then was the time I went elbow deep in making layered cakes ... like my life depended on it), TV (If I'm into a particular series, I spend hours ...no, days watching episode after episode - to hell with actually having a life!) and fashion (it's not uncommon that I buy five pieces of my favourite plain white tee ... I mean what if I never fins a white tee like this ever again, right?).

So, obsessive? Yeah, a little.

At the moment, I am mad about galettes - a flat, round (ish), free-form, rustic, flaky pastry with an either sweet or savoury filling. Essentially, a galette is an unfussy tart that doesn't need a mould to give it a perfect shape with perfect edges.

Despite the fanciful name, galettes are all about simplicity but not at the expense of flavour.

Constructing a galette is simple. Roll the chilled short crust pastry dough into a thin round. Pile the filling of your choice in the centre and then fold the edges up, pleating as necessary. Brush the folded up edges with egg wash and bake.

One important tip when constructing a galette is to roll the pastry thin: thinner than you would when you make a tart. Unlike a tart where the pastry is blind-baked in the mould BEFORE the addition of a filling, with a galette the pastry is baked only once, after the filling is in place. To make sure the pastry is cooked through in 30-35 mins (you can't over bake it as the filling may dry up or burn!), it has to be thin. 

Galettes can be made sweet or savoury. I made an apple galette for dessert last week and a couple of days after, i made a spinach and mushroom one for dinner. Too much pastry in a week? Never! In fact, I have another one I'm dying to try today: mustard, Gruyere cheese and tomatoes. Oh, I'm itching to go make it now and will post the results soon!. Till then, Here's the recipe for both the apple and spinach galette.

For the pastry (enough for 2 galettes)

300g flour (I used 200g plain flour and 150g whole wheat)

1/2 tsp salt (or if you want a sweet dessert crust, 1 tbsp icing sugar)

150g cold butter, cubed

4-6 tbsp ice cold water

Whisk together the salt (or sugar) and flour. Using a food processor, mixer or your fingertip, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the ice cold water tbsp at a time and bring the crumbs together to form a dough. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 mins. 

Spinach and Mushroom Filling (for one galette)

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups chopped spinach

2 dried chilli, chopped/1 tbsp chilli flakes

1/2 lemon

5-6 mushrooms (I used baby portobellos and shitakes), sliced (or if small, halved).

3 tbsp breadcrumbs (optional)

salt and pepper

1/2 cup Cheese (I used cheddar)

1-2 tbsp sunflower seeds

1 egg, lightly beaten (for the egg wash)

Heat some butter in a skillet/pan. Saute half the chopped garlic and add the spinach, chilli, salt and pepper. Toss in the butter and cover for a couple of minutes. Remove the lid, put the heat on high and cook the spinach until it has all wilted. Check seasoning and turn off the heat. and stir the spinach and squeeze a tbsp of lemon juice and mix. Set aside.

Wash the skillet and heat some more butter, about 2 tbsp. Add the garlic and once fragrant, add the mushrooms. Toss in the butter and saute till just brown, about 6-8 mins. Add the breadcrumbs and stir to mix. Cook for a couple of minutes and turn the heat off.

Assembling the galette

Remove the pastry from the fridge. Lightly flour your work surface. Divide the pastry in half, keep one half aside (back in the fridge if you're not using it immediately) roll the other half thin, about 1.5-2 mm. Trim the edges so you get a round, more or less.

Transfer the pastry onto a baking sheet that's been lined with parchment paper. 

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Layer 1: Sprinkle the cheese in the centre of the pastry base, leaving about an inch-wide border all around.

Layer 2: Spoon in the spinach filling on top of the cheese.

Layer 3: Top with mushrooms. 

Layer 4: Sprinkle the sunflower seeds on top.

Fold the edges of the pastry around the filling, pleating as necessary. Brush the folded edges with the egg wash.

Bake for 30 mins or till pastry is cooked.

Apple Galette Filling
Peel and core 5 apples and slice them thin (I left mine unpeeled but I prefer them peeled).
1 lemon
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup coarse sugar
2 tbsp butter

Put the sliced apples, lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan and cook over low heat, covered, until the apples start to soften - about 15 mins.

When assembling the apple galettes, roll the pastry thin (as above). Sprinkle some sugar on the base of the pastry and arrange the apples in the centre. Dot with butter and fold in edges.

Brush the folded edges with egg wash and sprinkle with a little more sugar.

Bake for 30-35 mins. 

Don't judge my pie ...

A galette is a free-form rustic tart or pie. Free-form? Instead of the beautifully structured and fluted pastry case that holds a traditional pie together, a galette is flat, kind of like a disc. You put your filling (sweet  or savoury; sliced fruit or vegetables, etc) on a thin sheet of pastry. Then you fold the edges in, brush the pastry with egg and that's your galette.

I may have taken the "free form" definition a little too literally here. My galette looks unimpressive (see below). Very rustic. Very, very rustic. But that's ok. Because, ladies and gentlemen, this tart tastes great. No, it tastes better than great. 

I was hesitant about posting these pictures up and even considered altering the recipe for my pastry to make a more solid galette. But I changed my mind because, quite frankly, I like how it turned out. I loved the taste and I also liked how imperfect it looked. 

This is what a perfect free form galette looks like (from recipe.com);

Nice? Yeah. Here's what I love about my imperfect galette: 

First: The pastry.

The crust of a galette is very important. It has to be rich, it has to be flaky. It has to be good. Don't worry, you don't have to use or make puff pastry to make the galette crust. While some galettes are made with puff pastry,  I prefer shortcrust pastry at its buttery best. You do have to use a huge amount of butter but that's what makes it so special.

And it is special.

I added some whole wheat flour to my pastry as I love the slight grainy texture of my pastry. No need for a food processor or mixer, Just use your hands to mix chilled cubes of butter into the flour, leaving chunks of butter here and there for an even flakier result. '

'Oh yeah!

Second: The filling. 

A leek galette -- just leeks, nothing more -- may seem boring but leeks, sauteed in butter and seasoned only with salt and black pepper are unbelievably tasty. Stick them in the oven and they taste even better, You can, of course, add mushrooms or cheese (goat cheese, white cheese or cottage cheese are best I think) but a simple leek only galette is my favourite. 

The thing to remember about using leeks or other vegetables in a galette is to pre-cook the filling first, lightly but until the moisture leaves it. This way, you don't end up with a soggy tart.

Thirdly: Its easy, no fuss food. The galette needs no special dish to bake in. So, put away your fluted tart dish or your fancy pie dish. All you need is a baking tray, lined with parchment. That's it. Free-form all the way. No fuss at all. It's ok if your tart is bumpy or lumpy. It just adds to the rustic charm. And I'm not saying this just because mine turned out rather bumpy. Ok, maybe I am a little but I am proud of my less than pretty tart.

Leek Galette

Pastry
11/4 cup flour ( I used 3/4 cup plain flour and 1/2 cup wholemeal)
113 gm butter, cold
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup chilled water

Filling
2 cups sliced leeks
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper

1 egg, beaten

Sift the flours, salt and pepper and whisk them together. Add the butter and, using your fingers, mix  it into the flour to resemble coarse crumbs. Leave a few chunky bits.

Form into a disc, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 mins.

Start with the filling. Melt the butter in a fry pan. Add the leeks ands saute (medium heat) till soft and the moisture is evaporated almost completely. Season and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Remove the chilled dough. Place it between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll till its about 20c in diameter and 1/2cm thick.

Place the leeks in the centre of the pastry dough. Fold in the edges. Brush the pastry with the egg. Place the galette gently only a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for about 25-35 mins.