Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Mixed Greens Galette

Last night, I tried a new, healthy recipe as part of an endeavor to be more adventurous and eat more veggies.  The resulting dish was terrific!  Alas, Blogger won't let me post a picture right now.

Try this for a photo!

Natalie's Adaptation:

Original Recipe By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN Published: February 18, 2013 http://www.nytimes.com

Mixed Greens Galette With Onions and Chickpeas
 





Yield: Serves 8 to 10 

I will make four smaller galettes next time and freeze two to bake for a later meal.

Schulman’s recipe calls for 1 yeasted whole wheat olive oil pastry and has a link to a crust for Mediterranean Vegetable Pies.  I adapted a recipe for Tyropitakia from my friend Marina Beasley:

Dough:

  • One envelope yeast (2 ¼ tsp)

  •  2 cups milk, warmed for 1 minute
  • 1 c olive oil
  •  2 tsp salt
  •  2 tsp sugar
  •  ¾ c wheat flour (or more) + 2 ¼ white flour.  Add additional flour as needed (may need up to 5 c total).  I will use more wheat flour next time.

Mix the ingredients with a spoon until the dough is thick enough to manipulate with your hands.  The dough should be very soft but not sticky – add additional flour as needed.  Set aside while making the filling.  My dough felt almost too wet but cooked perfectly.

This recipe makes too much dough for one galette.  Make mini-galettes filled with feta cheese and Greek seasoning or some other filler – yum!

Filling:

  • 1 large onion (I used 2 sm) – Cut into quarters from root to stem and then slice thinly across the grain

  • 1-pound bag washed, stemmed greens, such as a Southern greens mix (kale, collards, turnip greens and spinach) [This is not available where I live, so I purchased 1 bunch spinach and 1 bunch collard greens.  Removed stems, rinsed, and chopped.  Total weight = almost 1 lb.]
  • Salt to taste

  • extra virgin olive oil

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • Freshly ground pepper

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons za’atar [Make your own: 2 tbsp dried thyme, 1 ½ tsp sesame seeds, 1 ½ tsp sumac, 1/8 tsp salt.  I was out of dried thyme, so I added ½ tsp fresh thyme to the recipe when it called for the za’atar.]
  •  1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

  • 2 eggs

  • 3 ounces feta

  • 1 tablespoon egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon milk) for brushing the crust


Directions:
1. Make filling while dough rests.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with cold water.
3. Add greens to boiling water for 3-4 minutes, until tender. Transfer the greens to the bowl of cold water.  Drain water and/or replace with more cold water. Grab small handfuls of greens and squeeze out as much water as possible.  Course chop the cooked greens.   
4. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook, until soft and golden, 8-10 minutes.
5.  Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add greens, the za’atar, and chickpeas.  Adjust seasonings as necessary.   Add a 1/2-1 tbsp olive oil if the mixture looks dry.
5. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Crumble in the feta and stir in the greens mixture. Stir well to combine; let cool.
6.  Dust a large work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Roll out into a thin round, 16 to 18 inches in diameter. Line a sheet pan with parchment and place the round in the middle.  The round will not fit on the pan at this point.  [Use a sheet pan that will fit in your freezer unless you are going to skip the freezing step (see my thoughts below).]

Place the filling in the middle of the rolled out pastry and spread it to a circle, leaving a 3 or 4-inch margin all the way around the pastry. Fold the edges in over the filling, pleating them to cover the filling and drawing them up to the middle of the galette, so that the filling is enclosed. The finished galette should be about 10 to 11 inches in diameter. There can be a small circle of exposed filling in the middle but it shouldn’t be more than an inch in diameter. 

Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 45 minutes to an hour.  [I left mine on the back porch because it was snowing.]  Heat oven to 375 degrees.

**I’m going to skip the freezing step next time.  I don’t think this is necessary – I baked some mini-galette snacks while this galette was chilling, and the minis were just fine.  

7. Brush the galette with egg wash, and place in the oven. Bake until golden brown – 45 minutes in my oven. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Additional Info from Shulman’s recipe: 
Advance preparation: The finished tart is delicious at room temperature and will hold out of the refrigerator for several hours. The filling can be made through Step 4 up to four days ahead and kept in the refrigerator. The assembled galette can be frozen for up to a month. Double wrap with plastic wrap before freezing. Transfer directly from the freezer to the oven for baking; increase baking time by 10 to 15 minutes.