Mustard Greens and Apple Galette

Sounds a bit weird perhaps, a savory galette of mustard greens with apple? But the hint of sweet and tart apple is a very nice complement to the slightly bitter bite of mustard greens and comes together nicely with the nutty whole wheat pastry and tang of sharp cheddar cheese. My husband who is generally not a fan of bitter things took note of the bit of bitterness but found the galette to be delicious. He ate a quarter of the galette with gusto. I carried the apple theme to the accompanying simple salad of Red Iceberg and Three Heart Butterhead lettuces tossed with sliced apple, toasted sliced almonds, and a lemony honey-mustard vinaigrette.

1 recipe Whole Wheat Galette Dough

About 1 pound mustard greens
About 2 tablespoons roasted peanut oil or other oil
1 small onion, chopped
3-4 ounces Pink Beauty apple (half of a large apple), cut into 1/4-inch dice, no need to peel
About 1 tablespoon fermented sweet pepper paste
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
4 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated on coarse holes of a box grater
About a tablespoon of creme fraiche or heavy cream or an egg yolk thinned with a bit of water

Prepare the galette dough and refrigerate it while preparing the filling.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the mustard greens in batches, about 15 seconds per batch, allow to drain and cool in a colander. Gently squeeze some of the moisture out of the greens. Stack the greens so that the fat stems ends can be sliced about 1/4-inch thick and set aside, slice the leafy parts about 1/4 inch thick also. Don't be fussy, some fat stems will be a bit leafy and some leafy parts will be a bit stemmy.

Heat the oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Saute the onion until translucent. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the diced apple and pepper paste and saute until the pepper paste is incorporated. Add the chopped mustard green stems and continue to saute a few minutes, then stir in the leafy parts and add salt to taste. Continue to saute until any excess moisture cooks off, turn the heat up again if necessary. You don't want the filling to be too wet or the pastry will become soggy but you don't want the filling too be dry either. Set the filling aside to cool as you roll the galette dough.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Cut a piece of parchment paper at least 12 inches wide.

Roll the galette dough out to about a 16-inch circle. Transfer the dough to the parchment paper, it may be larger than the paper but after folding the sides of the dough over the filling it should fit. 

Arrange the filling over the dough leaving about 2 inches uncovered all around. Season the filling with freshly ground black pepper and grated nutmeg. Add more salt if necessary. Scatter the grated cheese evenly over the filling. Fold the edges of the dough up over the filling but don't be fussy about arranging it. Brush the folded over portions of the dough with the creme fraiche. Slide the pastry on the parchment paper onto a large flat baking sheet.

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, I use the convection fan so it speeds up the baking and makes for a nice brown crisp crust.

Transfer the baked galette to a cooling rack for a few minutes before slicing and serving. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Makes 4 main course servings or 6 to 8 appetizer servings.

Brussels Sprouts Galette

Brussels Sprouts Galette

The Brussels Sprouts Challenge, aka What To Do With A Glut of Brussels Sprouts, continues. This time I adapted another favorite basic preparation, a savory galette, to feature the tasty mini cabbagy things. Being a rather lazy cook I decided to try making it without first cooking the Brussels sprouts, an additional advantage to that, to my thinking, would be that the sprouts wouldn't get overcooked. And the decision paid off. The shredded sprouts wilted down but didn't become mushy and strong tasting. I also thought that some apple would add a nice flavor and indeed it did, it added a touch of tangy sweetness that I like with Brussels sprouts but it was not overwhelming. Actually, I didn't tell my husband that I had put apple in the filling and he didn't seem to notice. He did declare the galette a winner.

1 recipe whole wheat pastry dough
4 ounces red onion, sliced about ¼ inch thick
1 tablespoon olive oil
Pinch of salt
4 ounces or about 1/2 large Pink Lady apple, cored but not peeled
3 tablespoons creme fraiche
8 ounces Brussels sprouts
2 jumiper berries, minced
Freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon pepper flakes
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces Comte or Gruyere cheese, grated
1 tablespoon or more heavy cream or 1 egg white lightly beaten

Prepare the pastry dough and chill it while preparing the galette filling.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Saute the onion with a pinch of salt in the olive oil over medium heat until softened, just a few minutes. Set aside to cool.

Dice the apple into 1/4-inch cubes and toss it with the creme fraiche in a large bowl.

Slice the Brussels sprouts 1/8-inch thick on a mandoline. Toss the sprouts with the apple mixture, juniper berries, a few swipes of nutmeg, pepper flakes, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. It is easiest to mix it all together with your hands.

Roll the pastry into a 14-inch circle. Don't worry about the edges, it's a rustic galette and the rough edges look nice. Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper set on a rimless baking sheet. Arrange the Brussels sprouts mixture evenly over the dough leaving about 2 inches empty all around. Scatter the onions over the top and then the cheese. Fold the edges up over the filling pleating the dough as you go. Brush the top of the dough with the cream or egg white.

Bake the galette in the middle of the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes until the pastry is crisp and browned and the filling has settled and browned a bit also. Check the galette after about 20 minutes and if it seems to be browning too quickly turn the heat down to 375ºF.

Transfer the galette on the parchment paper to a cooling rack to cool briefly before slicing. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Kale, Apple, and Pomegranate Salad

1 generous pound Lacinato kale
1 x-large tart/sweet apple such as Stayman Winsap, Black Twig, Arkansas Black, or Pink Beauty
Arils from 1 x-large Pomegranate
About 1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano
Dressing (below)
Croutons (below)

Remove the ribs from the kale, stack them and cut the leaves crosswise into 1/4-inch julienne.

Cut the apple into quarters, remove the cores, cut into thin slices (a mandoline is helpful) then stack the slices and cut them into a fine julienne. Toss with some lemon juice or some of the dressing to keep them from browning.

Toss the kale with the apple, most of the pomegranate arils, the Parmigiano, and as much dressing as desired. Scatter the remaining pomegranate over the top and serve.

Dressing:
8 cloves or more of confited garlic
salt to taste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Juice of 1/2 large lemon
Generous grindings of black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Mash the garlic cloves with some salt to a puree, whisk in the rest of the ingredients.

Croutons:
Whole grain sourdough bread
Oil from garlic confit
Finely grated Parmigiano

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cut the bread into cubes about 3/4-inch large (you need not remove the crusts). Toss with the garlic oil and some grated Parmigiano. Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with more Parmigiano, don't worry about the cheese on the parchment it will become crunchy and delicious. Bake for 12 to 18 minutes, depending on how rustic the bread is, until the croutons are starting to brown, crunchy on the outside but still give in the center. Use as soon as possible or they lose their crunch.

Serves 4.

Warm Chioggia Beet and Apple Salad

3 medium chioggia beets
about 3 tablespoons pine nuts
2 small (about 9 ounces) crisp tart apples
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, chopped
1 whole star anise seed head
salt to taste
white wine vinegar, something light and fruity

Trim the leaves and roots off the beets and wrap each beat individually in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place the beets on a baking tray and roast at 400 F. for about 40 to 50 minutes until tender, depending on size. Carefully open the beet packets and run cold water over the beets, you should be able to handle the beets then by holding them under cold running water, rub the skin off the beets and set them aside to cool.

While the beets are roasting, heat a medium size skillet over medium heat. Toast the pine nuts in the hot skillet until they just start to brown. Remove the pine nuts from the pan and set aside to cool.

Peel and core the apples. Cut each apple into 16 wedges. Melt the butter in the skillet, add the apples, chopped shallot and star anise and saute over medium to medium low heat until the apples are tender. Set aside until the beets are finished roasting.

When the beets are cool enough to handle, cut them into wedges about the same thickness as the apples. Add to the skillet with the apples and add the toasted pine nuts. Saute to heat everything through. Season with a splash or two of vinegar and serve.

Serves 2 to 3.

I used a Spanish moscatel wine vinegar by Unio that is wonderfully light and fruity. If your white wine vinegar is very tangy, I would substitute rice vinegar. Also, if you can't find star anise, a pinch of dried tarragon would be good instead.