Monday, 2 March 2015

Savoury Mediterranean Galette with Bocconcini Cheese




If you have ever stumbled upon my blog before I am sure you have noticed a thing or two....maybe a couple words to get you started: chocolate...and dessert.



Beautiful words, no? But a girl cannot subsist of delicious healthy desserts ALL the time. Although it wouldn't be hard to convince me to try!


The day to day reality is I absolutely love being in the kitchen -- cooking, baking, creating. And that doesn't stop at desserts! I love making home made pizza, creating fragrant Mediterranean dishes -- the whole sha-bang!


So when I was selected to participate in Melt Magazine's Blogger challenge to create a summer-inspired dish using Bocconcini ...I was ALL over it. It took about 2 seconds. Yes 2. For me to conjure up this beautiful galette in my head.


 P.S Look at how beautiful the promo images turned out! GORGEOUS!









SO in order to participate in the challenge you have to go to this link right here and VOTE for my pretty little galette -- or whatever you want, OF COURSE.  I am the one with the big black curly hair (the last photo -- just in case ;) ) Check out the recipes, too because everyone's entry looks incredible. Oh gosh. I want all the foodz right now.


What was I saying -- OH YEAH GALETTE!


Since I made this Maple, Peach and Brie Galette I have been obsessed with them. So rustic and imperfect -- crisp and delicious.











I wish I had more time to cook REAL food --I find more often than not I try so hard to create recipes for the blog that by the time I am done I look outside and realize -- oops its 7 o'clock and I have no substantial food other than cupcakes. And chocolate. And not that I am complaining but sometimes you just need something to sink your teeth into.


















I think the beautiful bounty of summer vegetables can't be beat. Do you feel me, Canada? I know most of us are pretty darn TIRED of this cold dreariness. The colours alone are so vivid they make me happy. Pastry also makes me happy. Healthy foods make me happy ...so this is basically an open-faced happiness pie. Infused with the flavours of the Mediterranean, for good measure. Bocconcini is so often featured in beautiful antipastos and Caprese salad but I wanted to flex my pastry muscles and integrate the cheese into something that was more me. And nothing is more 'me' than making a giant pizza pie! I am extra like that.
















I think looking up some videos on how to assemble a galette may be of some help before hand -- I linked to a good one in the Peach & Plum Galette post! As you can see above once you have prepped all your ingredients you simply lay it out on the pastry with some room around the edges. Et voila!













Other than that I would say reserve this for a day when you have time to really have fun with it. Use whichever vegetables you like -- whichever herbs you like -- make it your own! I love using fresh herbs. Nothing beats them, really. You don't think it makes a difference until you splurge and buy some (or grow some!) and then your eyes are opened to the wonder that is mother nature.

 I think this can be a good side dish or meal in its own right. I made a double batch of the vegetables and used half for the galette and half for a baked vegetable side dish which was nice.

















It is a lot of steps and ingredients -- I know! So if you need to use a short cut and buy the pie dough pre-made -- more power to you! The star of the show is really the vegetables herbs and the bocconcini anyways, right?! Speaking of which -- how cute is bocconcini? SO CUTE.













Enough of my yapping -- let's have a look at the recipe -- because at this point -- you should already be on your way to the farmer's market!





Savory Egglant and Zuchini Herb Galette with Bocconcini Cheese

Yields 1 9 -inch galette

Serves 4-6 

Gluten Free & Vegetarian 




Ingredients:


  • 1 gluten free home made pie crust (omit the sugar in the original recipe and add 2 tablespoons of cold butter to the coconut oil mixture) or 1 pre-made pie crust/ dough of choice
  • 1 medium Italian eggplant
  • 1 medium yellow zucchini squash 
  • 1 medium green zucchini 
  • 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes 
  • 1 small red onion, sliced
  • 1/3 cup black olives, sliced or whole 
  • 1/4 cup fresh baby spinach leaves 
  • 1/2 200 gram container (about 5 portions) light or regular Bocconcini cheese (I used TreStelle) 
  • 1/4 cup olive oil mixed with choice of herbs (I used 3 sticks each of fresh rosemary, basil and oregano but you can use your dried herbs and spices of choice)
  • Fresh garlic puree or garlic powder to taste
  • Sea Salt to taste 
  • Optional: 1 egg white for an egg wash

*Baker's note: You may have extra veggies -- don't over-stuff the galette or it won't cook properly! If you do end up with extra I baked mine in a small casserole dish with roasted potatoes -- it was divine!* 

Directions:


  1. Prepare pie crust -- if using my recipe please find the link above and chill the dough in the refrigerator at this point while you prepare the filling. Don't forget to add two tablespoons of cold butter to do the dough with the coconut oil and omit the sugar!
  2. While the pie crust is chilling slice all your vegetables thinly (about 1/8 - 1/4 of an inch -- just make sure they are all uniform) and toss them into a large mixing bowl
  3. Add the cherry tomatoes, onion, spinach and olives to the mix alongside the herbs, salt, garlic and olive oil and toss until combined
  4. In a small bowl toss the whole bocconcini balls with olive oil and salt and if desired additional oregano, rosemary and basil (fresh or dried) and set aside
  5. Once the dough has had time to set preheat your oven to 400 F and roll out your pie dough onto a large piece of parchment paper -- this will allow you to build the galette and slide it onto a baking sheet making the process much easier
  6. Roll the dough into as much of a circle as possible, rotating the parchment paper every so often to get a round shape -- if you need to flour the surface to roll it out make sure to brush off excess flour before adding your filling 
  7. Arrange the vegetables in a ring shape in the center of the dough moving outwards to the edges ensuring they are placed as flat as possible and not overlapping too much -- make sure to leave a few inches around the perimeter of the dough so you can fold your galette at the end
  8. Once the vegetables are arranged to your liking slice the bocconcini and slide it in between the vegetables so they are evenly dispersed
  9. Using the parchment to help you fold the sides of the dough to form your galette -- once you push the first portion up to cover part of your filling work your way around clockwise pushing the filling gently and pressing the sides of the dough together
  10. The last step is the egg wash -- using a pastry brush cover the dough with the egg-wash (sparingly) and sprinkle with coarse sea salt
  11. Slide the parchment onto a flat baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 400 F then reduce the heat to 365 for the remaining 35-40  minutes*
  12. The galette is finished when the crust is golden brown and the cheese and filling is bubbling and hot
  13. Allow to cool for 10 - 15 minutes before slicing into 8-10 portions! 

*In my oven the galette from start to finish baked for around 65 minutes or just over an hour. It will depend on your oven and preferences for done-ness of the crust! 






As shown above the steps once you have it all prepped out are really simple. Even marinating the veggies and cheese is very straight forward. As you can see I used a LOT. I did double the recipe so I had lots of extra veggies to spare! If you end up with the same you can throw them in a casserole dish with some sliced potatoes and it makes a great side dish.









Toss it in the pastry -- okay not TOSS...but you know. Then tuck the sides in all around....









I love the colours. It's like a rainbow! A rainbow galette. Mmmm. Rainbows.









As you can see it's bursting with goodness. THE CRUST! Oh my goodness. It was like a beautiful crusty pizza pie with amazing Mediterranean goodness that warms the soul whether its 100 or -100 where you are. I promise. This is the most delicious pastry I have ever made --sweet OR savoury.









Let's take a second to admire the rainbow within...Ooooo... Ahh! SO pretty. I couldn't bare to eat it...no no no! It's simply to precious!










Oh okay maybe ONE slice.













And I will give you a slice, too.







I am a peach, I know. Peaches are good in galettes. Wait I said that already!


Moral of the story is YOU MUST MAKE THIS! And show me. And send me a piece because OF COURSE we ate this one pretty quickly.


AND ALSO IT WOULD BE AMAZING IF YOU COULD VOTE RIGHT HERE! I know I am just a little bloggie in a big sea of other bloggies but it's nice to be a part of a contest -- makes me feel like a pretty snazzy hipster foodie! And everyone loves those, right?! :D


Happy Galette Gobblin'


XO

2 comments:

  1. I love the idea of making a galette - they look so elegant and rustic... definitely on the list!!! Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Michelle! I absolutely love galettes. Like a fancy pizza! haha I do hope you try it and let me know if you do! By the way -- your blog is gorgeous! And your kiddos -- soooo cute! Cheers XO

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