Vegetable Galette
When I think of summer, I think of trips to all the Mediterranean countries. It’s now a summer tradition for me since childhood essentially. The fresh tomatoes, aubergine and courgette with flavours of herbs and lots of olive oil. This summer it not be so and to comfort myself I tried to roll those flavours into one dish. I’m aware that there is many dishes out there which will give me the taste of the Mediterranean but I wanted to create something which was an ode to summer 2020. The one without a trip to these lands. A dish which plays a tribute but is also unique in its own way. Something I will keep making in years to come and appreciate my trips even more.
A note on pastry: I have a love hate relationship with making pastry. I’m trained to make them professionally yet my lack of perfection lets me down. This pastry took the whole lockdown in the making and actually is inspired by the recipe in Sami Tamimi’s Falastin cookbook, a wonderful lockdown present from a wonderful friend (Tanya: if you are reading this, thank you once again. It has brought hours of joy in my kitchen!). The butter needs to be chilled. I cut it into cubes and put it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes prior to making. Likewise for the water. I actually only used a splash ( the original recipe calls for 60ml and I’ve left it at that). Be patient with the pastry and let it chill for an hour. Roll it on to baking/parchment paper because it allows for a gentle transfer on to baking tray and oven. The result is a flakey melt in the mouth pastry you’ll ever taste.
This is a picnic or al fresco eating recipe, prefect for a summer’s day with a side salad and dreams of a Mediterranean holiday that got away.
THE RECIPE
Vegetable Galette
prep time: 30 minutes
cook time: 90 minutes
servings: 6
INGREDIENTS
For the Crust
- 80 g plain flour plus extra for dusting
- 35 g wholemeal flour
- ½ tsp sugar
- Pinch of salt
- ½ tsp crushed black pepper
- 115 g butter cold ( see above note)
- Handful of finely chopped thyme, rosemary and oregano leaves
- 60 ml ice cold water
For the Filling
- 1 Aubergine sliced
- 1 Courgette sliced
- 2 Plum tomatoes sliced
- 1 can of chickpeas
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 Tbs tomato puree
- ½ Tbs crushed chilli
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
- 3 Tbs olive oil plus a little extra for drizzling
- Seasoning to taste
- 50 g of feta crumbled
- Handful of chopped thyme
- An egg beaten for the wash
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre heat oven to 180 degrees.
- To make the pastry mix the flours, salt, sugar and the herbs together in a bowl. Add the butter and crumble with your fingers till it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Add the water and work it together so it comes together into a ball. Transfer to a floured surface and roll it into a rectangle. Fold the shorter ends in towards each other to meet in the center, the fold in half like a book. Roll it out once again and cover with cling film. Refrigerate for an hour.
- While the dough is chilling make the filling. Arrange the aubergine and courgette slices on a tray, drizzle with olive oil, thyme and seasoning. Roast for 30 minutes. Take out of oven and set aside for assembly later.
- In a pan heat a tablespoon of oil and cook the garlic until its aromatic. Add the puree, chickpeas and spices. Cook for 5 minutes, season to taste and take off the heat. Set aside of assembly later.
- Take the dough out on a well-floured baking sheet. Roll into a rough circle about 28cm wide. Leave a 1-2cm rim to fold over the filling when assembling.
- Assemble by placing a layer of aubergine and courgette in a circle. Spoon the chickpeas and then a layer of tomatoes and feta crumbles. Repeat so you do this twice more.
- Fold the edges to cover the filling leaving the top layer to tomatoes exposed.
- Drizzle with olive oil and do an egg wash.
- Transfer to a baking tray or sheet and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Its ready when its golden and crispy looking.
- Serve hot or at room temprature.