Always Add Lemon is the highly anticipated first book from one of the most exciting young chefs cooking in Australia today, Danielle Alvarez. Taking the lessons, skills and tastes acquired working alongside some of the best chefs in the world, Danielle translates formidable kitchen smarts into an inspiring collection of recipes and projects for nourishing, vegetable-forward, seasonal food. Today on the blog we have Danielle’s recipe for greens and onion galette with crème fraîche and Comté cheese, which is as delicious as it looks. Scroll down and start cooking!
Greens and onion galette with crème fraîche and Comté
Serves: 6–8
I am a sucker for a savoury galette. I also love greens and always have too many in my fridge. I realise that topping a buttery crust with loads of greens doesn’t make this a health food, but I can pretend can’t I? I do, however, know that even if we are talking about a pie, if you’re able to get loads of nutrient-dense greens into it and make it into something delicious that you can share with friends and family then it is still waaaaaay better for you than anything processed. I like to imagine children would really enjoy this because it also almost looks like pizza, and I know from having a niece and nephew that getting greens into them is a tough one. I’ve not made it for them, but I think they would lap it up.
If you’re making it for adults, serve alongside a shaved radish, fennel and black olive salad with some lemon and olive oil and it’s a perfect vegetarian lunch or dinner.
You will need a baking stone for making galettes at home. They are readily available from kitchen supply stores, and I think they’re essential for achieving a crispy base on galettes and pizzas.
Ingredients
1 quantity Flaky dough (scroll down for recipe)
flour, for dusting
Filling
400–500 g (14 oz–1 lb 2 oz) mixed green leaves with thick stems removed (any combination of spinach, silverbeet/Swiss chard, beetroot/beet tops, sorrel, kale, etc.), roughly chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
170 g (6 oz) onion, sliced
2 teaspoons salt
20 g (¾ oz) flat-leaf (Italian) parsley leaves, chopped
15 g (½ oz) grated parmesan
⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
100 ml (3½ fl oz) Crème fraîche (page 239)
50 g (1¾ oz) grated Comté cheese
Egg wash
1 egg
splash of milk or cream
Method
First, make the dough according to the instructions further down the page (page 227 of Always Add Lemon). Refrigerate to rest for at least 30 minutes while you gather the rest of the ingredients. You can also make the dough ahead of time and freeze it. You’ll just need to thaw it in the fridge overnight.
For the filling, wash and drain all your greens but keep them damp. There’s no need to excessively dry them, as some moisture helps with the cooking process. To a large frying pan, add the olive oil, onion and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Place over a medium heat and sweat until the onion is soft and just lightly golden.
Add the parsley and sizzle for 1 minute, then add all the greens and remaining salt. Put a lid on the pan to speed up the wilting process. Once everything has started to cook, remove the lid and continue cooking until the greens are fairly soft, about 10 minutes. You can add your greens in batches if they don’t all fit in the pan at once. Drain the greens over a colander to remove any excess liquid. Allow to cool completely, then mix in the grated parmesan and nutmeg.
Preheat the oven to 230°C (445°F). Place your baking stone on the middle rack of the oven.
Remove your dough from the fridge and place on a well-floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough with some more flour and roll it out as evenly as you can in all directions until it is 2–3 mm (¼ in) thick. Don’t worry if the edges aren’t smooth, and if you get a crack just patch it up. Once it’s rolled out, try to slide a piece of baking paper under the dough. This will make it easier to move around and to place on the stone.
Make the egg wash by beating the egg with the splash of milk.
To assemble, dust the base of the dough with a good pinch of flour, then spread your cooled greens on top, leaving a 3 cm (1¼ in) edge. Fold the edges of the galette up in as rustic or pretty a shape as you’d like, leaving the middle of the filling exposed. Brush the folded edge with egg wash, then use the baking paper to pick up the galette and place it on the pre-heated baking stone. If you have a fan-forced oven, turn on the fan, otherwise just add 5–10 minutes on to the baking time. Bake first for 15 minutes, then turn it around to ensure it bakes evenly on all sides. After another 15 minutes, slide the galette off the baking stone and onto an upturned baking tray.
Drizzle the crème fraîche onto the greens (not on the crust). It doesn’t have to be perfectly covered or even as it will melt. Also add your Comté on top of the crème fraîche. Slide the galette back onto the baking stone and continue baking for another 20 minutes. Once everything is golden and beautiful and your cheese is just starting to brown, remove the galette from the oven and pull it onto a cooling rack using the baking paper. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Flaky dough
Makes: 345 g (12 oz), enough for 8–10 slices
Ingredients
65–80 ml (2¼–2½ fl oz) cold water
100 g (3½ oz) cold butter 170 g (6 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
1 teaspoon caster (superfine) sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten with a splash of cream, full-cream (whole) milk or water
Equipment
Baking stone, rolling pin
Method
The key to making good dough is to keep everything super, super cold. I usually measure out my water first and put it in the freezer. I will also cut my butter and just toss with the dry ingredients and put that bowl in the freezer too for about 5 minutes. You’ll also find what brand of butter works for you. A butter with a higher fat-to-liquid ratio is best, because it stays super hard even in warmer temperatures.
Once everything is very cold, begin to crumble the butter into the flour using your fingertips. Work the butter into the flour until you have bean-sized lumps. Begin to rub the dough between the palms of your hands as if trying to wipe your hands off. This is what creates those thin sheets of butter that form flaky layers. Add half the cold water and mix with your hands. Try not to stretch or knead the dough; you just want it to come together. At this stage, I like to dump it onto a bench so I can press the dough together. If it comes together easily without any dry, floury spots, then it has enough water. If there are some powdery, dry clumps, add a bit more water until everything comes together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and press it into a disc. Rub the outside of the plastic wrap to create a smooth edge (this will help get a more even circle when rolling it out). Refrigerate to cool and rest for at least 30 minutes.
If you have a marble benchtop, that is ideal for rolling out pastry as it stays cold. A wooden bench has the advantage of not being sticky. Whatever you have, try to find a space in your kitchen with enough flat surface to give you room to move. When the dough is still cold, but has warmed enough to be slightly pliable, dust it with flour. Roll the dough out from the centre in all directions, trying to keep the round shape as much as possible. I purposely wrote this recipe to give you enough extra dough so that you can roll it out wider than you need to then cut a neat round of dough, so don’t worry about the edges being cracked or uneven.
As far as rolling up the edges, you can make flat folds or elaborate, decorative edges, but my preferred fold is a pretty crimp, which I always think makes the humble galette look much more professional, but if that’s not your vibe, make it rustic.
Note
You can also make the dough and freeze it, but you’ll need to defrost it overnight in the fridge before you use it.
–This is an edited extract from Always Add Lemon by Danielle Alvarez published by Hardie Grant Books $50.00, available now from Booktopia.
This book is in our 2020 Christmas Gift Guide!
Always Add Lemon
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Always Add Lemon is the highly anticipated first book from one of the most exciting young chefs cooking in Australia today, Danielle Alvarez. Taking the lessons, skills and tastes acquired working alongside some of the best chefs in the world, Danielle translates formidable kitchen smarts into an inspiring collection of recipes and projects for nourishing, vegetable-forward, seasonal food.
The Best Books of 2020: Cookbooks
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