Summer Garden Galette

When we got back from up North this week Matt told me he had taken a picture of a recipe he wanted me to make. Yes, taken a picture of it. My sister had brought a bunch of decorating magazines with her & rather than copying a recipe out of one he just grabbed my camera & shot it. The recipe was for a Summer Garden Galette. I can't tell you what magazine it was from but I can tell the recipe came from Julia's Kitchen at Copia in Napa.

At first glance I thought "Oh, this is easy enough" but then when it came time to make it I discovered it was actually a bit time consuming. The crust has to be made & chilled 30 minutes before using, the potatoes have to be precooked & cooled, & the onions have to be caramelized. I chose not to roast my own red pepper & just used some out of a jar. Once put together the whole thing cooks for 45 minutes & then rests another 20. Needless to say, dinner was a little later than usual & the kitchen was hot from all that cooking.

It was a delicious result though & worth the time it took, we loved all the flavors together. As everything cooks together it melds into a wonderful "cake" of vegetables texture. I used some heirloom tomatoes from the garden & their sweetness in this was the star.

My only issue with the recipe was that is called for way too much fillings than could possibly be fit in the pastry round. I ended up not using a bunch of the cooked potato & onions, a bit of a waste. I've written the recipe below with what I feel actually fit in the galette.

Summer Garden Galette

Pastry

3/4 c flour
1/4 c unsalted butter, cold & cut into pieces
1/2 t salt
2 T cold water

In a food processor combine the flour, butter & salt. Pulse until a coarse meal is formed. Drizzle the water over the mixture & pulse again until you get small clumps. Use you hands to form the dough into a ball, flatten the ball into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Galette

1 small Yukon gold potato
salt & pepper
1/2 T olive oil
1 1/2 c onions, thinly sliced
1 T unsalted butter
6 strips of roasted red pepper
1 c grated gruyere
1 medium tomato, sliced about 1/2-inch & seeded
1/2 T fresh thyme
1 t milk

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Put the potato in a pot of salted water & bring to a boil. Turn down heat & let simmer for 20 minutes or until just tender.

While the potato is cooking melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions & cook them slowly until tender & golden brown. Season with salt & pepper.

When the potato is done drain it & allow it to cool. Slice the tomato into 1/4-1/2-inch slices. Sprinkle the slices with salt & pepper & drizzle them with olive oil.

Line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Roll the dough out on the prepared sheet to a 7-inch circle. Arrange the potato slices on the dough leaving a 2-inch border on all sides. Top with the onions, then red peppers & 1/2 c cheese. Next layer on the tomatoes & sprinkle with salt. Add the remaining cheese & the thyme. Fold the edges of the pastry dough up around the sides (it won't come over the top but make more like a bowl for the fillings). Brush the pastry with the milk.

Bake for 45 minutes. Let rest for 20 minutes before serving.

Serves 2 as a main dish. (Double to serve 4 & roll the crust out to 14-inches.)