Cozy Root Vegetable Galette + My Favorite Kitchen Tool
I'm not gonna lie, one of the fun by-products of having a food blog is slowly acquiring a variety of cool, beautiful, and handy kitchen gadgets and equipment. Like that rose gold cooling rack up there. So pretty! And even that tiny wooden pinch bowl from the Madewell x Food52 collection. The minimalist mini bowl of my dreams. But do you know what my favorite kitchen tool is and probably always will be? Bet ya can't guess. My rolling pin. Is that weird? Probably. And boring, too. But it didn't even start out its life as a rolling pin, so I'd say that's actually pretty interesting. It was a baseball bat. Yep, a baseball bat. Years ago, when my parents were young and newly married my mom needed a rolling pin. So my dad, crafty handyman and jack of all trades that he is (that's not even an exaggeration, the dude can literally make or fix anything), chopped off the end of an old baseball bat he had, gave it a good sand and voila!- the best damn rolling pin you could never buy. My mom never bought another rolling pin, at least to my knowledge because the baseball bat one is the one burned into all my childhood memories and the one she always used.
When I moved out, my mom gave me the rolling pin. I was going around the kitchen plucking all the little gadgets I'd acquired throughout my youth and when I came to the drawer that housed the rolling pin I was like "huh, guess I gotta buy a rolling pin". My mom pulled it out and said "here, take it". I will probably never buy an actual rolling pin because I love all the memories that come rushing back whenever I pull it out. All the sugar cookies we rolled out together, the giant zip-locs of hazelnuts my mom would pound to crumbs, the many, many pie doughs carefully rolled out: they're all there in that rolling pin.
So, let's talk about his galette. It's basically some simple roasted root vegetables that get all sweet and caramelized in the oven then tucked in to a flaky buttery pie crust with some fontina and parm for good cheesy measure. Ya, I know. Delicious, right? It's the perfect cozy and comforting Winter lunch or dinner paired with a nice hearty kale salad.
Cozy Root Vegetable Galette
serves 6
Pie Crust
1 2/3 c all purpose flour
1/2 t Himalayan pink salt (or kosher)
1/2 c butter (1 stick), cold and cubed in 1/2 inch cubes
2 t apple cider vinegar
3-4 T ice water
1 T half and half or heavy cream, for brushing
flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (such as Jacobsen’s or Maldon)
Filling
1 small delicata squash, sliced into 1/2 inch rings
2 large carrots, sliced in 1/2 inch slices
1 medium sweet potato, sliced in 1/2 inch rounds
1 medium onion, sliced in half then sliced in 1/2 inch slivers
1 medium fennel bulb, sliced in 1/2 inch slices
2 large turnips, sliced in 1/2 inch slices
1 head garlic, top sliced off horizontally to expose cloves
10 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves stripped from sprigs
salt and pepper, to taste
2 T olive oil
1 oz fontina cheese, freshly grated
1 oz parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Make the Crust
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add in the butter and toss to coat in the flour mixture. Using your hands, pinch the pieces of butter between your thumbs and pointer fingers to flatten into thin shards of butter. Continue until all butter has been flattened, working quickly to prevent the butter from getting too warm. Drizzle over the vinegar and about 2 tablespoons of the water and use a wooden spoon or spatula to incorporate. Drizzle over the last 1 to 2 tablespoons of ice water as needed, a little at a time, just until the dough comes together and is no longer dry and crumbly. You may not need all of the remaining 2 tablespoons, depending on the humidity of the day. Pat the dough out into a rough rectangle about an inch thick. Slice the rectangle into quarters and stack pieces on top of one another. Gently pat out with your hands into a rectangle about an inch thick again. Repeat the cutting and stacking once more. This is going to give us all those flaky layers. Pat dough out and shape into a round disk about an inch thick, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge at least two hours or overnight, ideally.
Roast the Vegetables
Preheat oven to 425 F. Toss all the vegetables and head of garlic in a large bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme leaves. Spread out in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 20-30 minutes, until fork tender but still firm and edges have caramelized. Allow to cool.
Assemble the Galette
Lower temperature to 400 F. Roll the dough out on a floured surface into about 1/8 inch thick round. Arrange on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle on both cheeses, leaving about a 2 inch border of crust around the edge. Squeeze the head of garlic to release all the cloves. Layer all the vegetables and garlic cloves over the cheese. Fold the edges up over the sides, brush with cream and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Pop in freezer for about 20 minutes, until dough is very firm. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Serve warm.
