#MeatlessMonday: Kale, Sweet Potato, and Feta Galette with a Turmeric Crust

 

A Galette is akin to a pie or a tart; however, with a free form fold over crust – rustic, they call it. Thankful, I am to have become familiar with its versatility as a pastry. The clumsier I am with folding their crusts, the more beautiful they turn out. This glitch works out perfectly for me! Virtually fool proof, quick and easy, galettes can be sweet or savory.

With loads of success, I’ve been experimenting with savory vegetable galettes. I look forward to venturing in to sweet fruit ones.

The idea for making a galette first came to mind when I realized in planning a luncheon recently just how much time I DIDN’T HAVE to make individual hand pies. Taking a chance on those initial galettes, I was beyond thrilled when they were the first thing to disappear from the serving table. Because I love it when that happens, I decided to try it again. This recent version given as a hostess gift to friends we recently visited was also well received. 

With its colorful turmeric tainted light and flakey crust, sautéed curly kale and roasted sweet potatoes, this galette is fit for brunch, lunch or dinner. Because I often feel as if everything goes better with cheese, there is also an optional delicious pinch of salt from the creamy feta added to give a little richness.

I encourage everyone to take familiar flavors and present them in different ways. Don’t be surprised if this formula becomes your new obsession as well.

Kale, Sweet Potato and Feta Galette with a Turmeric Crust

Yield: 4 as a main course double serving, 6 – 8 as a single serving

Special equipment: Baking cookie sheet, parchment paper

The Madness: The Ingredients

Turmeric Crust

Yield: 1 crust

2 cups AP flour

½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. turmeric
2 tbs. fresh thyme leaves
1 ½ stick of unsalted butter/ 12 tbs. (chilled)
⅓ cup of ice cold water
1 egg, finishing eggwash

The Madness: The Ingredients

Kale, Sweet Potato, and Feta Filling

Yield: 1 quart of kale filling and 1 pint of roasted sweet potato rounds

Special equipment: Cookie sheet

3 small sweet potatoes

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 bunches of curly kale, soaked, cleaned and stemmed
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 large white onion, small diced
1 medium red pepper, small diced
pinch of kosher salt
1 tsp. of ground garam masala or cumin (optional)
½  - 1 tsp. of favorite All Purpose vegetable seasoning
2 oz of block feta, small diced (optional)

The Method: The Assembly: The Crust

Keeping It Real Disclosure: To make a great crust, it is important to have COLD butter, and COLD water. I quarter the tablespoons of butter, place them in to a small bowl back in to the freezer, along with the measured out water as I lay out and prepare the additional ingredients for the crust.

In a food processor fitted with the kneading (duller) blade, add the sifted flour, salt, turmeric, and fresh thyme leaves. Pulse the dry ingredients 5 - 7 times to aerate the flour and combine the ingredients evenly. The addition of the turmeric to the dough creates a warm flavor that in my opinion works well with the fresh lemony essence of the fresh thyme leaves.

If you’ve ever had a Jamaican beef patty, you’ve enjoyed a flakey turmeric crust.

 

Now, you’re about to make one.

Add and butter. Continue to pulse these ingredients until well combined, maybe 10 – 15 pulses, approximately 1 – 2 minutes. Remove the lid from the food processor and take a look.  This is an important visual.  The combined dough will appear grainy, like lightly moistened beach sand, in what is often called “varied pea sized” bits. Reassemble food processor; continue to pulse while drizzling in the ⅓ cup of cold water.  Your dough will come together before your eyes, eventually pulling away from the sides of the food processor as it just starts to form into a ball. 

Keeping It Real Disclosure: Roll your dough out on to parchment paper. I use parchment paper in order to control the amount of flour being added to the formed crust. With a base of parchment paper, there is no need to add additional flour when pulling or kneading the dough in to a ball to rest.

Knead lightly, forming your dough into a disc, tear off an additional sheet of parchment paper to place on top of the dough. I then lightly press the dough in to a 6” disc before refrigerating it to rest. Pressing the dough out slightly saves me time when I have to roll the dough out altogether. This also minimizes the exposure of the dough to the warm temperatures of my kitchen as the oven preheats.

Remember: Cold dough equals flakey crust.  Work as quickly as possible.

Rest the dough in the refrigerator for a minimum of one (1) hour. However, when I have the chance, I like to make my dough and filling a day ahead before assembly and baking to allow all of the flavors to meld. If you do this as well, store the dough and filling separately. The actual assembly and baking of the galette takes place on day two (2).

When ready to roll out the dough, be sure to roll out the dough between the two sheets of parchment paper to about ⅛ - ¼” round or oval thickness.  Again, as our kitchen tends to get very warm, after the dough has been rolled out, I place the dough on the baking sheet and return it to the refrigerator to keep cool as the filling is prepared. If your filling was prepared the day before, allow the filling to sit out for approximately 10 minutes to come up to room temperature a little. If you’re making your filling, and assembling the galette on the same day, allow your filling to cool slightly before filling the crust to bake.

The Method: The Assembly: Kale, Sweet Potato, and Feta Filling

Preheat oven 400˚

Peel the Sweet Potatoes. Slice them across in ½” rounds. Drizzle 2 tsps. of extra virgin olive oil on to the rounds.  Toss the sweet potato rounds to coat them well with the extra virgin olive oil.  Lay the rounds in a single layer on to a baking sheet.

Roast the sweet potato rounds for 10 minutes, flip them over and roast the rounds on their opposite sides for an additional 10 - 15 minutes.

As the sweet potatoes roast,

Wash and destem the kale carefully, leaving the tender leafy greens. Save the stalks for making stock later in the week. Gather the leafy kale pieces, rolling up the leaves where possible to cut across or tear them in to smaller bite sized pieces.

Dice into small cuts the onion, and then the red pepper. Set each aside. Dice the feta in to ¼” cubes and set them aside.

Add the tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to a heavy bottom sauté pan or skillet. I use my trusty 12” cast iron pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion and pepper 3 – 5 minutes until the onion just start to become translucent, and the pepper has softened.

 
Add the kale leaves to the skillet. Add the dried seasonings. The leaves will immediately begin to wilt, and possibly draw a bit of water. Sauté the combined vegetables for approximately 10 minutes until the kale have cooked through.  If you find the kale isn’t moist enough while cooking, and potentially sticking to the pan, feel free to add ⅛ cup of stock or water to loosen the vegetable mixture. Once the kale, onions and peppers have cooked down approximately 7 minutes, and all of the additional moisture has reduced, add half of the reserved feta. Stir the cheese in to the cooking vegetable mixture.  Some of the cheese will melt through.

Once the feta cheese has been added and the kale has cooked through, turn off the mixture. Allow the vegetables to come to room temperature before refrigerating overnight or for at least 20 minutes if you’re assembling the galette immediately.

Take the rolled out galette dough from the refrigerator leaving the bottom layer of parchment paper on the baking sheet. Remove the top layer of parchment paper.

Layer the roasted sweet potato rounds onto the galette crust. Starting at the center and working your way around.  Reserve a few pieces of sweet potato to add to the top of the galette as garnish. Add the kale mixture on top of the sweet potato rounds, filling the galette crust, mounding it in the center and working the vegetables outward to a thinner layer as you make your way from the center of the dough, leaving approximately 2” of bare dough around the edge of the galette. Add the remaining sweet potatoes to the top of the kale vegetable mound. Fold the overhang of dough on top of the vegetable and cheese mixture, making your way around the galette. The dough will automatically pleat itself as you pull it up to fold it. If it looks imperfect, don’t worry, it will bake beautifully. 

Crack and scramble the lone untouched egg from your crust ingredient list. Brush a few strokes of the scrambled egg wash over the outside surface of the entire pastry dough. Discard the remaining egg mixture. The egg wash will help to create a glistening gold brown exterior on the outside of your pastry.

Bake the galette for 25 – 30 minutes at 400˚. Check on the pastry at 15 minutes, rotating it in your oven. Once the galette is removed from the oven, If you’d like to add the last of the reserved feta to the top of the vegetables, the reserved heat from the baked galette will melt the cheese. If not, feel free to omit. Baking the galette on the parchment that it the dough was rolled out on makes for easy clean up and storage.

Allow the galette to cool completely before wrapping it. I found that folding the parchment paper over then wrapping it in layers of aluminum foil worked perfectly for travel, refrigeration, and with a little butchers’ twine, gifting.

Reheat in a 350˚F oven for 5 – 7 minutes.

As always, Enjoy!
xo, Bon Appégeechee