This springtime galette is divine. And, really, most galettes are. They’re pies you eat for dinner: savory, flakey crusts and any filling that captures your fancy. A galette is the kind of dish for which the crust and the filling are both the point—thankfully so, because they’re both delicious.
I opted for flavors of spring since my local greenmarket here in New York is just starting to feature spring produce after a protracted winter. Spring onion and spring garlic are finally available, and I hear ramps, my favorite, will soon be ready for their fleeting season.
On my Instagram, I feature an ingredient of the week that guides my weekly recipes. I’ve focused on broccoli this week, so some type of broccoli was going to be in this galette. And broccoli rabe, with its mild, yet distinctive, bitterness felt right for this dish. Add spring garlic, sweet and overwintered spinach, lemon zest, white wine, red pepper flakes, dill and pine nuts, and your galette is ready for springtime heaven.
For the crust, I adapted a recipe from Four & Twenty via Food52. This crust relies on butter, not eggs, and apple cider vinegar, not shortening. I used vegan butter, of course, but otherwise followed the crust recipe closely. And let me definitively say: It rose unexpectedly high. I was impressed and grateful.
Additionally, the apple cider vinegar gives the crust a savory bite that was a really welcome surprise—because I personally appreciate when savory dishes aren’t unnecessarily sweet, or, really, sweet at all. I was also pleased that it comes together quite quickly. After I prepared it, I refrigerated it for only 2 hours, and it was ready to get filled, folded and baked. You could refrigerate it for just an hour, at minimum. I loosely followed these best practices for preparing galettes that Food52 so generously lays out, as well.
The filling I developed is a mix of my favorite flavors: bitter broccoli rabe, sweet spinach, umami spring garlic, zingy lemon zest, earthy white wine and oily pine nuts. I mean, that’s quite a melange. The filling also comes together quickly and easily. And if you prefer kale to spinach, or hazelnuts to pine nuts or, say, artichoke to broccoli rabe, make it yours! A simple tomato galette with vegan cheese sounds pretty good, too.
All that’s important is a flakey crust, good filling and some sort of folding design that leaves a window into the flavors you chose.
The necessary tools for this recipe are a rolling pin and sturdy work station for rolling your dough; a pot for boiling the broccoli rabe and cooking the filling; and a baking sheet for cooking your galette. Enjoy, and leave a comment below if you try it! Or tag me on Instagram if you post it!
A pie you eat for dinner, and all the springtime flavors in one bite. Broccoli rabe, spring garlic, sweet and overwintered spinach, lemon zest, white wine, red pepper flakes, dill and pine nuts make this galette the perfect springtime dinner.
2.5 hours
1 hour
3.5 hours
Step 1
In a large bowl, stir the flour, sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Add the butter and coat the flour mixture with a bench scraper or spatula. Using a pastry blender or your spatula in your bowl, cut or mix the butter into the flour mixture, working quickly until mostly pea-size pieces of butter remain (a few larger pieces are okay; be careful not to over-blend).
Step 2
Combine 1/2 cup cold water, the ice and the vinegar in a small bowl. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the ice water mixture over the flour mixture. Mix and cut it in with the bench scraper or spatula until fully incorporated. Add more of the ice water mixture, 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time, until the dough comes together in a ball.
Step 3
Shape the dough into a flat disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. I refrigerated mine for 2 hours.
Step 4
Remove your dough from the fridge. Lightly flour it and your work surface. Roll out your dough until about 10 inches in diameter. It doesn’t have to be a perfect circle at this point—mine wasn’t, either.
Step 5
Wash the broccoli rabe. Snip and discard the rough ends. Generously salt a large pot of water and bring it to a boil. Add the broccoli rabe once it boils, and boil it on medium heat for 5 minutes, or until just soft. Drain. Chop roughly, and set aside.
Step 6
Add the avocado oil to a large pan—or the pot in which you boiled the broccoli rabe—over low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add 1 tsp salt. Add the pine nuts, and stir to mix with the garlic and salt. Stir to prevent burning.
Step 7
Add the spinach and immediately add a splash of water. The spinach will start to cook down. Add the cumin and lemon zest, and mix. Add the white wine and turn the heat up to cook off the alcohol, roughly 1 minute. Then add the broccoli rabe and stir to integrate. Add the final 1 tsp salt, the red pepper flakes and the dill. Stir to mix.
Step 8
Remove the filling from the heat. Carefully place it in a sieve and, using the back of a spoon, press down on the filling to drain off excess liquid. This will ensure the filling isn’t waterlogged in your galette.
Step 9
Preheat your oven to 400F. Place your crust on a baking sheet fitted with parchment paper. Add the dijon mustard to the center, and spread it carefully in a circle at the center only, keeping 2-3 inches of border untouched all the way around. The mustard adds more flavor, and it’s a base on which your filling will rest. Add your filling in 1 even layer over the mustard. If you don’t use all of the filling, save it to enjoy as an accompaniment to the galette. The 2-to-3-inch border gives you more crust to work with when you fold it.
Step 10
Fold it in any way you like: a pentagon, polygon, hexagon, or other shape you come up with. Really, all that matters is that it looks good to you! If it feels really soft, refrigerate it for 10 minutes. It should be more on the firm side. Beat the last 1 tbsp water with the egg yolk. Brush the egg wash on the outer crust. Sprinkle with extra dill, black pepper and sea salt.
Step 11
Bake your galette for 30-40 minutes. Look for a golden crust that’s still flakey. Dive in while it's still hot.
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