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.

Beans and Greens 2.0

These days I'm eating very little bread so I've had to come up with a new way to combine my beans and greens. So here's a stab at one of my favorite combos. Rather than cooking the beans with some bacon, mashing it up, spreading it on some garlic toast and adding a pile of cooked greens on top, the dish has morphed into something more, hmmm, not quite soupy, sort of a braise.

No particular quantities because I was just experimenting and not keeping track, and this type of dish doesn't require precise measurements anyway.

• 4 thick slices of pancetta, cut up
• olive oil for sauteing
• 2 small stalks of green garlic, chopped
• firm cooked dried beans (a combo of leftover Gigantes and chickpeas), about 1 1/2 cups or so
• fresh washed spinach, drained but not spun dry, no need to cut up unless the leaves are absolutely huge
• about 1 cup of chicken stock
• fresh ground black pepper
• your best extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Saute the pancetta in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil until it starts to become crisp. Add the chopped garlic to the pan and stir to mix in. Add the beans to the pan and saute for a few minutes to evaporate any excess moisture. Turn the heat down and continue to saute the beans slowly until they start to brown a bit. Pile the fresh spinach leaves into the pan (it was probably about 1/2 lb of leaves) and pour in the chicken stock. Cover the pan and turn the heat to high. When the stock has started to boil turn the heat down again and toss the leaves with some tongs a few times until they have all wilted. Salt is probably not necessary because pancetta is usually pretty salty and perhaps your chicken stock is as well, taste first before reaching for the salt. Don't overcook the spinach, it should just be wilted! Serve immediately in warmed soup bowls with a generous grind of fresh black pepper and a good drizzle of flavorful extra virgin olive oil.

Made 2 main course portions.

Fava Bean and Greens Crostini

1 ounce thin sliced pancetta cut in pieces
1 stalk of green garlic, minced
About 1 cup of shelled and peeled fava beans, coarsely chopped
a handful of tender young fava greens, coarsely chopped
a handful of arugula, coarsely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
aged pecorino cheese
extra virgin olive oil
sliced country style bread


Cook the pancetta with a bit of olive oil in a medium size saute pan over medium low heat until crisp. Remove the pancetta from the pan and set aside. Pour off all but about a tablespoon of the fat from the pan. Add the minced garlic to the pan and saute until soft (about half a minute). Add the chopped fava beans to the pan and saute about another minute. They shouldn't need much more cooking other than the minute of blanching to remove the peels. Turn off the heat and add the chopped greens to the pan and stir until the greens have wilted. Stir in the reserved pancetta.

Brush the bread with a little olive oil and toast it. Arrange the toast on a platter or individual plates. Pile the beans and greens on the toast. Season to taste with coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper. Use a vegetable peeler to shave some of the pecorino over each portion. Gild the lily with a drizzle of your finest extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!

Smashers

1 pound potatoes, such as Yukon Gold
1/2 pound sprouting broccoli, or rapini, kale, mustard greens, etc.
2 tablespoons fat of your choice (olive oil, butter, duck fat)
1 large shallot, minced, or chopped onion, scallions, garlic, leeks, etc.
1 hot chile, sliced thin, or chile pepper flakes (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
creme fraiche or sour cream

Wash but don't peel the potatoes. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with water, add salt to taste, bring to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook the potatoes until tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, steam the broccoli until tender. When I use bitter greens I usually blanch them in boiling salted water which reduces the bitterness. Shock the hot greens in ice water to stop the cooking and retain the color. Drain, pat dry or spin in a salad spinner to remove excess water. Chop and set aside.

When the potatoes are done, heat the fat of your choice in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the allium of your choice and the chile if using, saute until softened and translucent. Drain the potatoes and add them to the saute pan. Turn the heat down, gently smash the potatoes with a potato masher and then break them up a bit with a wooden spatula or spoon while stirring them gently into the allium mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the chopped greens and gently stir them in. Add a few tablespoons, or more to taste, of creme fraiche or sour cream. Stir gently until just heated through, the mixture will smooth out a bit but should still be quite chunky, don't over stir. Serve warm.


This dish makes a nice side dish or a light main course. Sometimes I chop up bacon and start with that instead of olive oil, or what ever. Sometimes I'll stir in some shredded duck confit, or left over diced meat. Smoked trout or salmon is also good. Roasted brussels sprouts are a great addition also. Basically, anything that you like to eat with potatoes is a great addition. Of course, the more fat you use the more tasty it is, but I usually try to keep it on the lighter side