Corn, Tomato and Spinach Olive-Oil Galette

Corn, Tomato and Spinach Olive-Oil Galette

Corn, Tomato and Spinach Olive-Oil Galette

Olive-oil galette–Is it a tart? A pizza with a folded edge? A pie you eat for dinner?

Olive-oil Galette

It’s delicious no matter what you call it and, depending on your fillings, this olive-oil galette works for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

This quick, easy tart base can be made anytime with basic pantry ingredients since butter isn’t a primary ingredient. It works as a weekday meal but fits many occasions from picnics (simply eat slices by hand) to an elegant dinner with wine and real silverware.

Another advantage of adding an olive-oil galettes to your menu, other than sounding fancy French when you say “Galette” (a French word that actually sounds like it looks), is how easy it is to prepare for all eating styles from plant-only to eat everythingtarian.

 

Corn, Tomato and Spinach Olive-Oil Galette

Serves 12 as appetizer or 6-8 as a meal with a side

Crust Ingredients

 2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup fresh-grated parmesan
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup plus 1-2 tablespoons ice water

Optional: Add 2 teaspoons toasted fennel seed or 1½ teaspoon toasted cumin seed

Galette Filling
2 teaspoons olive oil
12 ounces grape tomatoes, cut in half (about 2 ½ cups whole)
2 ears corn kernels (about 1¼ cup or 1 can drained and dried)
3 large garlic cloves, minced fine
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
¼ teaspoon salt
10 ounces (about 8 cups) spinach
Optional: ½ cup fresh peas, blanched in salted water
4 eggs, prepare one for egg wash
¾ cup ricotta
1 cup grated gruyere (2.25 ounces), divided

Crust Steps:

  1. Add flour, salt, parmesan and any spices to a food processor; pulse until blended. Pour in olive oil while pulsing to mix into flour, you may need to break up large clumps. Then slowly pour in ½ cup cold water. Dough will start to pull away from sides and clump together, but if not, add a bit more water up to 2 tablespoons. Dough should feel smooth, moist but not tacky. Remove from food processor.
  2. Knead dough for about 30 seconds then form into a ball. Press the ball of dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 2 days maximum or freeze for later use.

Filling and Tart Steps:

  1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil. When oil is warm, add halved tomatoes, corn, garlic, pepper flakes, thyme and salt. Cook 8-10 minutes to reduce liquid. Add spinach, use tongs to toss to evenly wilt it—about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool.
  2. Preheat oven to 375˚ Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or coat one with olive oil. Place dough a floured counter, press the disc to flatten enough to roll out with a rolling pin. Sprinkle some flour on the dough or rolling pin and roll from the center towards the edges to create a circular, but imperfect, shape about 15” wide and ¼ inch thick—look for an even thickness overall. Pick up an edge and lift it to over the pin (think curtain rod) to lift the dough and place flat on the baking sheet.
  3. Mix together 3 eggs, add ricotta and all but ½ cup of gruyere, add cooled cooked ingredients, mix.
  4. Pour mix onto the center of the dough, spread it within 2 inches of edge. Fold dough border up over the filling either in small square sections or pleated sections. Brush the dough with egg wash.
  5. Bake 30 minutes, then top with the remaining ½ cup gruyere. Bake another 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and center feels firm. Let cool before serving.

Serving options:  Serve warm or at room temperature. Stores well for 3-4 days before crust begins to soften or break down.

Related Recipe: Here’s another recipe that could be a tart or pizza: https://eatwellacademy.com/corn-and-cremini-chickpea-cauliflower-pizza/ 

    About Me

    The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
    Michele Redmond

    Michele Redmond

    French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

    It's about Making Food First

    Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

    Boursin and Yogurt Artichoke Gratin

    Boursin and Yogurt Artichoke Gratin

    Boursin and Yogurt Artichoke Gratin

    Boursin-yogurt-artichoke-gratin

    Boursin and Yogurt Artichoke Gratin

    French and American gratins, pronounced “Grawh-tAHn”, range from dense, cheesy and cream-laden to light dishes made simply with a béchamel sauce.This artichoke gratin, satisfyingly filling yet not overly cheesy works well as a dip or topping for a tartine (open-faced sandwich).

    The French cheeses used, Boursin and Gruyère, are commonly available in U.S. grocery stores. The unusual gratin ingredient is the Greek yogurt as a complementary creamy element. It also adds a hint of acidity that balances the sweetness of the artichoke hearts.

    Yogurt is a source of B-6 and B-12 vitamins, vitamin D, potassium but Greek yogurt offers more protein, a more diverse probiotic profile and is thicker and creamier than most regular yogurt.

    Boursin and Yogurt Artichoke Gratin

    10-12 servings as an appetizer

    Ingredients

    • 4 ounces of low-fat cream cheese, softened
    • 5.2 ounces (150 grams) herbed boursin cheese, softened (see substitutes below)
    • 1 cup low-fat Greek plain yogurt
    • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne (too much cayenne can mute the herb flavors)
    • 4 ounces gruyère (about 1 ⅓  cups shredded), divided (see substitutes below)
    • 2 (14-ounce) cans artichoke hearts, drained

    Steps

    1. Preheat oven to 400°F and adjust a rack to the middle position.
    2. Place the cream and boursin cheese in a mixing bowl to let them warm up a bit. Shred the gruyère and add to the bowl.
    3. Drain the artichokes. Squeeze by hand the liquid from the artichokes. Doing this twice works best.
    4. Once the cheeses are soft enough to mix together with a large spoon, add the yogurt, cayenne, 1 cup of the gruyère (the rest is for a topping) and add the artichokes (break these up between your hands as you add them to the bowl).
    5. Mix all ingredients and spread mixture in an 8×8” baking dish or gratin dish. Sprinkle on the remaining gruyère and place in oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until bubbling. Turn on the broiler for 2-3 minutes to create a lovely, cheesy crust. Serve hot or warm (see serving ideas below).

    Substitution and taste notes options:

    • Salt: This is not a missing ingredient! There is salt because the ingredients have enough added sodium to enhance flavors and balance the taste profile.
    • Yogurt: Greek yogurt adds tang and a thicker texture than typical yogurt. Often artichoke gratins or dips use lemon juice or zest for a fresh tang, but Greek yogurt does double duty.
    • Boursin: This soft cow-milk French cheese is often made with parsley, chives, white pepper and garlic. Or add these ingredients to a soft-style goat cheese.
    • Gruyère: A cow-milk cheese that melts well with nutty flavors. Can be replaced by other cheeses that melt well like fontina and have mild flavors. Strong flavored-cheese like cheddar overwhelm the artichoke and herb notes.

    Love cheese? Here’s a few notes on enjoying cheese & French cheese passion:

    • Top with some Panko or fresh bread crumbs that have been lightly softened with some butter or olive oil for a crunchy bread topping
    • Serve as a dip with crackers, crostini or use as a topping for a sandwich tartine
    • Toss in 3/4 cup of cooked spinach that has been well squeezed to remove any juices but add just a bit more cheese and yogurt to maintain the gratin texture
    Boursin-yogurt-artichoke-gratin-on-table
    “Tout le gratin sera là!” = “Everybody who’s anybody will be there!”

    Laura K Lawless French language expert

      About Me

      The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
      Michele Redmond

      Michele Redmond

      French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

      It's about Making Food First

      Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

      I love Paris in the cheese time | French Cheese

      I love Paris in the cheese time | French Cheese

      I love Paris in the cheese time | French Cheese

      In a country that brags about 1,600 types of raw milk cheeses plus pasteurized options, shopping in a French cheese store (Fromagerie) stimulates or anesthetizes your senses depending on your tolerance for an overwhelming variety of options and the unique sensory aroma experience. One of my favorite French cow milk cheeses is Langres from the region of Champagne Ardenne on the Langres plateau. From a sensory experience, the barn-yardy odor hits you first and visually it looks like a tiny orange cake with powdered sugar—the orange color is from annatto seed. The concave cap is sometimes filled with a splash of champagne before eating, but I just dig in to enjoy its bready, earthy, sour-cream, mildly salty, sometimes fruity finish creamy experience. When I visit or work in France, it’s one of my first go-to cheeses. So far, I haven’t found a U.S. equivalent nor an imported version that survives the travel distance or the U.S. pasteurization requirements. If anyone has tried these or knows of any American cheeses with similar characteristics, please share your experiences or send me some cheese please.

      French Cheese Langres | thetasteworkshop.com
      French Cheese Langres | thetasteworkshop.com

      French Cheese Please

      The French get a lot of grief for their high cheese consumption. That they eat so much of it, so often, and without weight or health concerns. They even have verifiable better health outcomes than us Americans who may worry about frequently eating French cheese or any cheese. I explore these French eating paradoxes in other posts, but for now I propose that cheese can be a healthy part of a diet, presuming you’re not, sadly, lactose intolerant.

      The biggest cheese challenge I have in France is which of the 1,000+ officially designated types of cheese to buy and not whether it’s “healthy”.

        About Me

        The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
        Michele Redmond

        Michele Redmond

        French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

        It's about Making Food First

        Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

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