I just wanted to say hello and share another recipe from my root vegetable theme, that I developed for a G2Kitchen magazine, before I leave for Prague again. It's pure leisure time this time and I should be able to enjoy Prague as a tourist. No 14 hours photoshoot every day! I can't wait for that! The main reason for my trip to Prague though is to celebrate my beloved grandmother's 80th birthday. I look forward to seeing my whole family and spending some precious time with them.
I think spring is finally coming to London as I saw first blooming flowers and enjoyed some nice warm sunshine while walking just in my t-shirt in Windsor last weekend. I hope we get more such warm days when I get back. This savoury galette is a wonderful lunch or snack for those who still wait for warm days. It's full of flavours and vitamins that we so much need after long cold winter.
Roasted Vegetable Galette
Serves 4-6
Crust:
250g wholemeal flour
¼ tsp salt
115 g chilled unsalted butter, diced
¼ cup crème fraiche
2 tsp lemon juice
¼ cup cold water
1 spring of fresh thyme, leaves chopped
Vegetable filling:
5 small carrots (or 3 medium), peeled and diced
2 parsnips, peeled and diced
350g butternut squash, peeled and diced
2 medium red onion, peeled and quartered
1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 head of garlic, outer layers peeled
salt and freshly ground pepper
creamy goat cheese, crumbled
To make the crust, combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter and using your hands rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, whisk together the crème fraiche, lemon juice and cold water. Add the mixture to the flour mixture and blend everything together with a fork. Stir in chopped thyme. Do not knead the dough. Gather the clumps into a ball. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and flatten a bit. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 180℃. Put all the vegetables into a roasting tray. Sprinkle with herbs and drizzle over 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss everything together until all the vegetables are evenly coated. Cut off the top of the garlic head, exposing the cloves. Drizzle some olive oil on top and wrap in foil. Place the garlic on the roasting tray with the vegetables. Roast the vegetables about 20-30 minutes stirring once or twice until tender. Squeeze the garlic into a large bowl and mash with a fork. Add the roasted vegetables, half of the cheese and toss gently.
Increase oven temperature to 200℃. Unwrap the dough and press the edges so that there are no cracks. Dust a sheet of parchment paper with flour and roll out the dough into a 30cm circle about 0.5cm thick. Transfer the dough on the parchment paper to a baking sheet. Arrange the vegetables on the dough, leaving a 5cm border. Scatter over the remaining goat cheese and fold the edges over the filling. Bake on the lower half of the oven for about 35-40 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.
