If you haven’t read my post on the savory galette mother dish technique, I recommend starting there to get a better idea of what savory galettes are all about, and how you can make many seasonal variations once you get the hang of it.
If you have pie dough ready to roll out, this dish is pretty easy. I include my favorite savory pie dough recipe below, and I describe it more fully in this post. But, if you have your own favorite pie dough recipe, go ahead and use it. Store bought pie dough is OK, too. I like to make my own, mainly because I can make it with a 50/50 blend of all purpose and whole wheat flours.
The galette recipe is also below, but let me give you the quick summary of the process. You start with a good-sized bunch of beets with good-looking greens attached. By good-sized, I mean at least a pound and a half total weight. Usually, you get about a pound of roots and 12 ounces of stems and greens. Red, gold, or stripped Chioggia beets all work equally well. Here the bunch was a mix with a couple gold beets mixed in with the red beets.
Prepare the beet roots
Separate the beet roots from their stems, setting the stems aside for later. Clean up the beets to your liking. I usually only peel the rough parts of the beet skin off, leaving the skin in place where it is smooth. Slice the beets into ¼ inch rounds. Toss them in olive oil with a pinch of salt. Lay them out flat on a baking sheet and roast them at 425 for about 30 minutes.
Prepare the stems and greens
Meanwhile, chop the stems of the beets into one pile and chop the leaves into a second pile. The stems and leaves will be of all different sizes. It’s fine for some greens to be in the stem pile and some stems to be in the greens pile. After chopping, rinse them off well. A colander dunked into a larger bowl of water works well for this. You want every grit of sand to sink to the bottom of the water, leaving clean greens on top.
Dice up an onion and mince some garlic. Sauté the onions and beet stems with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Once the onions are soft and translucent, add the garlic and sauté one more minute. Finally add the greens and sauté until they are fully wilted. You may have to add the greens in two or three stages if there isn’t room in the pan to hold everything.
Prepare the béchamel
In a separate pan, prepare a béchamel. This can be done in parallel with aromatics and greens, if you are good at multi-tasking. But it’s fine to do them serially. You should still be done with both before the beet roots are ready to come out of the oven. To prepare the béchamel, sauté 2 tablespoons of butter with two tablespoons of flour. Whisk well as you sauté, to separate all of the flour grains. You aren’t trying to get any color on the flour. Just get it cooked. It should take just a couple of minutes. Then slowly stir in one cup of milk, whisking as you are pouring. Continue to whisk to break up any lumps. As this cooks, it will thicken. After several minutes you should have a nice, smooth béchamel. Finish the béchamel by adding a pinch of salt and stirring in two ounces of fresh goat cheese. Continue to cook until the goat cheese is melted and fully integrated into the sauce.
Assemble and bake the galette
At this point the beet roots should be about ready to come out of the oven. Beat one egg to use as an egg wash. Roll out the dough to about 14 inches in diameter. Transfer the dough to a rimmed baking sheet. Stir the béchamel into the beet and greens mixture. Spoon the beet, greens and béchamel mixture into the center of the galette and spread it around so there is about two inches of dough left to fold over. Spread the roasted beet rounds over the greens and béchamel mixture. Fold the dough over the edges of the beets in rustic, overlapping flaps. Use a pastry brush to apply a thin egg wash to all the exposed dough. Move the galette to a 425 degree oven and bake until the crust is golden and crisp. Expect that to be 35-45 minutes.
Serve
With this, and most savory galettes, it helps to let the galette cool for 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven before you try slicing. Optionally, sprinkle some fresh chopped herbs over the galette after it comes out of the oven. Mint, oregano, parsley, chives… Any of these would do nicely.
This is a hearty dish, and it can make a nice meal when paired with a fresh salad. If you are serving to people who really want some meat included in their meal, merguez sausage pairs very well with this dish. Roast the sausage in the oven at the same time as the galette is baking, or toss the sausage on the grill to prepare it.
Beets and Greens Savory Galette
Ingredients
- 1 pie dough ready to roll
- 1 bunch beets with fresh greens attached 1.5 - 2 pounds total weight
- 1 medium onion (6-8 ounces) diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup milk
- 2 oz fresh goat cheese
- salt
- pepper
- olive oil
- fresh herbs for garnish optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
Prepare the beets
- Separate the beet roots from the stems and greens. Reserve the stems and greens. Clean the beet roots and peel off as much skin as you feel appropriate.
- Slice the beets into 1/4 inch rounds. Toss with a tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Spread the beets in a single layer on a baking pan and transfer to the oven. Roast for 30 minutes
Prepare the beet greens
- Chop the stems of the beets into one pile and chop the leaves of the beets in a second pile. It's OK for some stems to be in the leaf pile and vice versa. After chopping, rinse both the stems and the leaves well.
- Sauté the onions and the beet stems over medium-high heat in a tablespoon or two of olive oil. The ingredients should glisten in the pan, but the olive oil should not pool in the bottom of the pan.
- When the onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes, add the garlic and sauté one more minute.
- Add the beet greens and continue to sauté untill the beet greens are fully wilted. You may have to add the greens in 2 or 3 stages to allow them to fit. Once all of the beet greens are fully wilted, take the pan off heat.
Prepare the béchamel
- In a separate pan, saute 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour over medium-high heat. Whisk vigorously to prevent clumps from forming.
- When the flour is cooked, but before it darkens in color, about 2 minutes, slowly add a cup of milk to the pan while vigorously whisking. Be sure to break up any clumps that form. Continue to sauté while stirring vigorously. The sauce should thicken and become creamy.
- Break the goat cheese into small pieces and add to the bechamel sauce. Also add about 1/2 tsp of salt. Stir vigorously, until the goat cheese has melted and is fully integrated into the sauce
Assemble and bake the galette
- On a well floured surface, roll the dough out to a 14 inch diameter. Turn the dough often as you roll, and reflour if necessary, to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface.
- Transfer the dough to a rimmed baking tray. The dough will hang over the sides.
- Combine the béchamel with the sautéd stems and greens. Spoon this mixture onto the dough and spread, leaving a two inch ring of dough left clean.
- Spread the roasted beet circles over the top of the stems and greens.
- Create a rustic rim by folding the remaining dough over the edge. Fold the first flap, and then iteratively fold overlapping flaps, until the rim has been built.
- Beat an egg, and use a pastry brush to apply a thin egg wash to all exposed dough.
- Transfer to the 425 F oven and bake until the crust is golden brown. Expect 35-45 minutes.
- Allow the galette to cool for 10 minutes before attempting to cut and serve. Optionally sprinkle a freshly chopped herb over the galette. Mint, oregano, parsley or chives would all be nice options.
Easy Savory Pie Dough
Equipment
- Food processor.
Ingredients
- 175 grams all-purpose flour about 1.25 cups
- 175 grams whole wheat flour about 1.25 cups
- 5 grams salt about 1 tsp
- 2.5 sticks cold butter (straight from fridge) 12 ounces/280 grams, cut into 1/4" pats
- 6 tbsp ice cold water 85 grams
- herbs or aged cheese, optional see notes
Instructions
- Roughly combine the all-purpose and whole wheat flours along with the salt in a mixing bowl.
- Prepare the food processor with it's basic blade. Add 2/3 of the flour mixture to the food processor. Spread the butter pats evenly on top of the flour. Pulse just until there is no dry flour, and the dough begins to clump.
- Spread the dough out evenly at the bottom of the food processor and add the remaining flour on top. Pulse a few times. The dough should break up into bits ranging from powder sized to pea sized..
- Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl. Optionally add herbs or aged cheese at this point. Sprinkle with cold water and then fold and press the dough until it forms a ball. A silicon spatula can work, but I usually end up using my hands.
- Split the dough ball into two equally sized pieces. Form each piece into a rough ball and then press into a disk shape that is 4-6" across. The closer the disk is to pie crust shape and size, the easier it will be to roll out.
- Wrap the disks tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before rolling and baking. For make ahead, the disks may also be frozen for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw in the refridgerator for a day before you try to roll them out.
Notes
- Instead of 100% all-purpose flour, I use a 50/50 split between all-purpose and whole wheat.
- The original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of sugar. To make this recipe more appropriate for savory applications, such as galettes, I removed sugar from the recipe.
- I added the option for herbs or aged cheese. This can take the crust up a notch, as long as the seasoning matches flavor profile of the recipe in which the crust is used. Your choice of about 2 tsp of dried herbs or 2 Tbsp of fresh herbs or an ounce of finely grated aged cheese.
