Between croissant and pizza

Creamy, cheesy eggs infused with flavorful spices, crunchy leaves of spinach, refreshing tangy juice oozing out of  the baked cherry tomatoes - all these lovingly wrapped in an irresistible, flaky, buttery crust. I dont think I am really good at describing things but this is all I can say about the recipe I am sharing today...

The inspiration behind this succulent delight is the famous Galette recipe by Smitten Kitchen. I had been wanting to share a galette recipe on the blog  for quite a while and had actually made it twice for the purpose. But the hungry bears on our dining table didnt give me the chance to take any pictures. This one is also not perfectly shaped but I just dont want to wait till next chance, so here it is. Please ignore the rough shape and dont worry yourselves about it as thats exactly the best thing about a galette; you can form it in whatever way you like.

I have made the dough using almost the same ingredients as suggested at the page, but for the filling, I wanted to try a  different vegetable combination to add a little variety to the original recipe.

Spinach Galette

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, chilled in the freezer for 30 minutes
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup thick yogurt (the original recipe calls for sour cream)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:

1 cup blanched spinach
50 g fresh cream
80 g creme fraiche (alternatives: 120g ricotta cheese / 40 g greek yogurt mixed with 40 g heavy cream)
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp chili flakes (optional)
1 tsp pizza spices
1/4 cup chopped basil
2 medium sized eggs
60 g grated cheese (any gratin or pizza cheese would work)
1 tbs olive oil


Mix together the flour and salt in a bowl. Sprinkle cubes of butter over dough and mix it with the flour using your figer tips. It will have a crumbly texture.

 

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice and water and add this into the flour mixture.

Mix in the liquid using your fingertips or electric mixer with the dough hooks on, and form a ball. Tip: Do not overwork the dough.

Cover with cling film and refrigerate for atleast an hour.

For the filling, beat the eggs and take out about 2 tbs of these in a seperate bowl for glazing.

Mix all other ingredients for filling (except spinach and tomatoes) with the beaten eggs.

Take out the dough from the fridge and roll it out into a 12 inch round. Tranfer onto the baking tray lined with parchament paper.

Spread the egg-cheese-cream mixture over the bottom of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Spread the blanched spinach over it, place the cherry tomato halves attractively on the outer sides making a boundry and fold the border over the filling. For a finer finish, pleat the edges!! I havent done it though as it was too hot in my kitchen and the runny filling was a bit messy to tackle:)

Drizzle olive oil on top, glaze the border with the beaten egg and bake in the preheated oven (190C) for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Take out from the oven and let stand for about 5 minutes before transfering onto the serving plate.

Whether with spinach, squash or eggplants, zucchini or mushrooms  - galette is a wonderful meal for all seasons and is pretty easy to make. Just fold up all the seasonal goodies and enjoy your healthy and super-delicious creation!!