A center-stage galette which refuses to be relegated to a supporting role!

A versatile savory tart which begins with a peek in your fridge.

Here’s what I had in my refrigerator/pantry that needed using up: a handful of kalamata olives, some slightly past-its-prime spinach, a tiny chunk of unidentified cheese (probably Fontina), half a container of créme fraîche and one sad, lonely potato.

You can use the ingredients listed or check your refrigerator and see what bits and bobs you have hanging around. I would recommend using a potato regardless of your other toppings because it gives the tart heft and substance. Boursin cheese is a great alternative to créme fraîche. Whatever toppings you go with, don’t overload the galette.

The Crust

Love/hate relationship with making pie crust. Sometimes it turns out great and I am quite smitten. Other times not so much. At any rate, this is a fairly friendly recipe which usually turns out just the right amount of flaky and delicate while sturdy enough to hold the toppings.

Baking

It is helpful to have a pizza steel or stone in order to avoid the dreaded soggy bottom. The stone must be well preheated (at least 30 minutes). You can assemble the galette atop parchment paper and then slide the parchment onto the stone or use a cast iron griddle type pan (or pizza pan with holes on the bottom) and set that directly onto the stone. Either way works great.

Potato, Olive and Spinach Galette

Recipe by SashaCourse: Potato, Savory Tart, Vegetarian

Servings

servings

Cooking time

minutes

A savory tart that’s perfect as a starter or main course.

Ingredients

Pastry Crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
8 T cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup Greek yogurt, full fat please
For the Topping
1/4 cup kalamata olives, halved lengthwise
5 oz. baby spinach, sautéed in 1 T olive oil until wilted
3 oz. fontina or any cheese of your choice, grated
4 oz. créme fraîche or 5.5 oz. Boursin cheese, softened
1 medium sized Yukon gold potato, sliced 1/8″ on a mandolin
2 T or so parmesan for sprinkling over the top

Directions

For the pastry:
Pulse flour, salt and baking powder in a food processor; add the cubed butter and pulse until it resembles coarse sand.
Add the yogurt and pulse until dough starts to come together; alternatively you can transfer the flour mixture to a large bowl and stir in the yogurt with a fork.
Gather the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic and chill for 1-2 hours. The dough will be pretty soft so you want to let it cool off enough to avoid sticking.
About 1/2 hour to 1 hour before rolling out the pastry, preheat the oven with the pizza stone or steel to 425º.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough into roughly a 12-14″ circle and place on parchment paper.
Assembling the galette:
Spread the créme fraîche or softened Boursin cheese over the pastry.
Top with the olives, spinach and shredded Fontina cheese leaving a 1 1/2″ border.
Layer the slices of potatoes over the cheese and brush lightly or drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Season with kosher salt and pepper.
Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the potatoes.
Fold the excess pastry over the filling at the edges, overlapping it slightly as needed and press down firmly.
Bake for about 25-35 minutes, depending on your oven. The potatoes should be golden, the cheese bubbly and the crust a nice fawn-like brown.

Notes

This galette heats up quite nicely and is even delicious cold. I really prefer the Yukon gold potato because it cooks up quickly and has the perfect consistency; the kalamata olives add a nice umami.