Double Take: Savory Galette

Savory Galette with Spinach, Caramelized Onions, Potatoes, and Cheese

As you know from my previous post, Bender has been out of town. I had three nights to myself to make whatever my belly wanted. So the first night I went Japanese and made tempura, the second night I went Tex-Mex-ish and made quesadillas, and the final night I went Italian-ish and made a savory galette inspired by Cake Duchess' Savory Galette with Potatoes, Onion, Zucchini, and Gorgonzola.

What’s a galette you ask? Well, I think the easiest way to describe it would be to call it a pie not made in a pie plate, filled with ingredients of your choice. If you can make a pie crust, you can make a galette. Still squeamish when it comes to pie crust? Never fear, read Smitten Kitchen’s pie crust tips and you’ll be armed and ready to go. Remember: Keep it cold.

Amazingly, I was able to move it from the table to the cookie sheet without a disaster.

Savory Galette

(dough recipe adapted from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan via Cake Duchess and Made with a Twist)

Makes two 8-inch galettes (I made one large galette)

Dough Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons sour cream (or yogurt or buttermilk) (I used expired sour cream and it was fine.)

1/3 cup ice water

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 yellow cornmeal (I used corn flour, not to be confused with corn starch… it’s a finely ground cornmeal)

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

7 Tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 to 8 pieces

1 lightly beaten egg or 2 Tablespoons heavy cream, for brushing

 All-purpose flour and corn flour

Filling Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 softball sized onion, sliced into rings

1 purple fingerling potato, thinly sliced

¾ teaspoon sumac, divided

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups fresh baby spinach, washed and dried

¼ cup grated mozzarella

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan, divided, plus extra for garnish

Directions:

Stir the sour cream and the water in a small bowl and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Add the chopped butter and combine with your fingertips or a pastry cutter until the mixture is speckled with pieces of butter that vary in size from bread crumbs to peas. Add the sour cream mixture, and stir with a fork until the mixture comes together.

Remove the dough, divide it in half (for 1-2 servings, or wrap it as one for 3-4 servings). Squish the ball down flat and wrap it in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours (overnight works well too). At this stage, the dough can be frozen for up to a month when wrapped airtight. They’ll take 20 minutes to defrost.

To make the filling, melt the butter and olive oil in a medium pot with a lid over medium heat. Add onions, cover, and cook for 15 minutes or until the onions are caramelized, stirring the onions occasionally (I like to pretend it is popcorn and just shake it to move the onions around). Remove from heat, add the potatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cool at least fifteen minutes or until you are ready to work with your dough.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it into an 11-inch circle (or a 14-inch circle if serving 3-4) that’s about 1/8 inch thick. Be sure to lift and move the dough frequently. Roll the dough up around your rolling pin and unroll onto the prepared baking sheet (you could also fold it into quarters and move it that way).

Toss the all of the mozzarella and ¼ cup of the parmesan, all of the spinach, and ½ teaspoon sumac into the pot with the cooled filling, and then mound the filling in the center of the rolled-out dough, leaving a 2-3 inch border.  Sprinkle with the remaining sumac. Fold the uncovered border of dough up over the filling, allowing the dough to pleat as you lift it up and work your way around the galette. Brush with a lightly beaten egg or some heavy cream. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese. If you want a really flaking crust, pop the entire tart back in the fridge for 20 minutes before proceeding. (If you don’t, it will still be flaky, but not perfect. I didn’t have room in my fridge, so I proceeded immediately.)

Bake the galette for 35-40 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp and the cheese is bubbly. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the galette rest on the sheet for 10 minutes. Slip a wide spatula or a small rimless baking sheet under the galette and slide it onto the cooling rack. (If, by chance, your cooling rack is still dirty from making tempura, clean it. The bottom crust will get soggy if it’s left on a cookie sheet or silpat.) Serve warm or room temperature, garnished with extra parmesan.

The galette can be kept at room temperature for several hours, but it is best served the day it is made. If you have leftovers, reheat them in the oven if possible. I microwaved mine for one minute before placing it in the oven to reduce the amount of time it needed to reheat.

I don't love them, but they're just too pretty not to use! 

THOUGHTS:

What is up with me only having expired sour cream in the house?

As long as you like your filling and pie crust, you will like the savory galette. I enjoyed the sweet of the caramelized onions and the punch of the sumac, but I really should have used 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms instead of the potatoes (I would have cooked them with the onions). But the best part about this recipe is that you can completely customize it. I bet it would even be good with carnita meat if you top it with your favorite taco toppings!

Warning: this galette is incredibly filling. More so than you would ever expect.

VERDICT:

A-great-way-to-clean-out-the-fridge: 1 vote! 

To see how Tabitha filled her Savory Galette, head on over to Double the Garlic!