A Plate Full

I’m in crisis mode.  The farmer’s markets are ending for the year here in Denver, and that always sends me into a mild panic.  I’ve settled into the rhythm of early Saturday mornings with my friend at the farmer’s market.  The day just starting, before the crowds, leisurely selecting what will be cooked and consumed for the next several days.  There is something very primal and grounding watching the growing season unfold before you.  We get excited seeing our favorite varieties appear and try not to be greedy, knowing that they’ll soon be gone for another year.  There’s only 1 or 2 more early Saturday mornings of sleepy driving, coffee, and wandering the booths selecting my dinner.  I find myself buying two of everything, trying to cram and stuff it all in before it’s gone. Last week I had to go back to the car to drop things off because it was too heavy to carry.  I’ll probably do the same thing this Saturday.  I can’t help it.  I know the stores will have fruit and produce but it’s not the same.  Anxious.  I get anxious.  Which brings me to this.  A lovely, beyond easy, delicious way to use some of my compulsive behavior’s bounty.  What is a galette?  It depends on what country you’re in.  Here, and to me, it’s a kind of freeform, flaky pastry filled with either sweet or savory ingredients.  Today, this is the one I’m having.

First, the pastry.  Now you can use your favorite pie dough.  Depending on what you’re filling it with, you can make it any way you’d like to.  I’ve made pie dough with cream cheese, with ground nuts, with parmesan cheese.  All very tasty.  For this recipe, just plain old unsweetened, regular pie dough works. And, you can also use this….

refrigerated, pre-made pie crust from the supermarket.  Yep, works great.  I always have some in the freezer for emergencies.  ‘Cause you can make a dessert or appetizer galette in a flash.  ‘Cause your wonderful pie dough recipe can fail you miserably for no reason at all and then what do you do.  ‘Cause sometimes you just want pie.  Now.

Anyway, preheat your oven to 375.  Roll your dough into a 11 to 12″ round and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  It can hang over the sides, you’ll be folding it in, don’t fret.  Then mentally mark a circle about 2-1/2″ inside the outer edges.  That’s your filling edge.  This is what I used.

1/4 cup thinly sliced zucchini
1/4 cup or so of mixed purple and Yukon gold potatoes (it’s what I had)
1/4 cup of roasted butternut squash
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
5 or 6 small roasted carrots
3 oz. of Italian Fontina cheese (about the size I cut off)

First, I grated some cheese onto the pie crust, it gives the vegetables a base to settle into as well as tasting good.

I filled the circle with the squash, potatoes, and zucchini, grated some cheese, and then topped it with the carrots and shallot.

Then I pulled the dough up around the vegetables and sort of pleated it so it would lay nice and evenly.

I brushed the dough with an egg wash (1 egg with a tablespoon of water or milk mixed together well) and baked it for 35 minutes.  That’s it.  Almost too easy. Wait a few minutes before slicing so everything settles together.  Makes a beautiful appetizer or light lunch.  Cooked chicken or turkey would be a nice addition.  Use whatever vegetables you have on hand and leftovers work great.  The only caveat would be that they should have similar cooking times, so either slice things thinly to cut the cooking time or pre-cook if you’d like to have larger pieces as well.  Have fun, you can’t go wrong here.

Note:  After cutting this, I would have liked the crust to be just a bit more done.  I would go another 10 minutes.  Check at 35, use a fork or spoon and gently peek between a fold and make sure the pastry is cooked there as well.