Is the galette the french version of a pizza, pie or tart? That is the question! I keep seeing this free-form pastry pop up on my Instagram so I knew that I had to give it a go!
so, what is a galette?
The galette may be one of the oldest baked goods/bread that exists. There is evidence to show that it has evolved from the ancient practice of spreading thick cereal paste on hot stones. Even though the trending dish now-a days-resembles a pastry, technically the term can describe any free form grain-based base (crust, pastry, crepe etc) enveloping around any type of filling.
My favourite part about this dish is that is free-form and rustic, which is a polite culinary way of saying it can be a complete mess and that is alright! Furthermore, the exposed filling allows the filling to become caramelised in the oven.
flavour and components
A classic flavour combo of a galette is a crepe base filled with egg, ham and cheese called a “galette complete.”
However, moving into the world of pastry the typical flakey crust is typically made of flour, eggs, butter and milk (sounds extremely vegan-friendly right?!) Luckily, it was super simple to substitute these ingredients to make a simple yet flakey crust.
Although I used a basic base with whole-wheat flour for this recipe, I am interested in using different types flours such as rye, spelt or even ground buck wehat to complement different types of vegetables in the future.
savoury parsnip & leek galette
Equipment
- Mandoline
- food processor
Ingredients
Dough:
- 128 grams all-purpose flour
- 128 grams whole wheat flour
- 6 grams salt
- 168 grams vegan butter chilled and cut into pieces
- 15 ml apple cider vinegar
Filling:
- 400 grams parsnips thinly sliced/ mandolin
- 200 grams leeks
- 4 grams garlic minced
- 5 grams dried tarragon
- 100 grams cashews
- 100 ml non dairy milk
Instructions
Dough
- Combine flour and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add in vegan butter and pulse until the mixture turns into a coarse meal.
- Slowly drizzle in 60 ml of cold water until the dough just comes together. Round into a large ball and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.
Filling
- Meanwhile, soak the cashews in boiling water for a minimum of 30 minutes. Once done soaking, blend the cashews and non-dairy milk in a high-speed blender until homogenous.
- Heat one tablespoon of olive oil a pan over medium heat and sauté the leeks until slightly translucent, about five to six minutes. Add in the tarragon for the last minute. And mix until incorporated.
- Switch off the heat and mix in the cashew mixture.
Assembly
- Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and preheat oven to 190°C.
- Turn out onto a floured work surface and roll the dough into a 25 cm (10-inch) circle. Transfer to the baking tray.
- Spread the filling over the crust, leaving an edge of roughly four cm (1 ½ inches).
- Then neatly arrange the parsnips in a spiral pattern moving outward.
- Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Fold up the edges of the dough up and over the filling, overlapping as needed, then brush with non-dairy milk.
- Bake galette, rotating once, for about 35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cooked through.
