Roasted Potato, Broccoli and Cheddar Galette

Ugh, my kitchen lighting is literally the worst. This is as good as it is gonna get.

My baking practice with simple, free forming galettes continues with this comforting dinner. Thinking about it now, it would probably “fit” better in the Fall, but oh well.

I don’t usually enjoy making a dinner where one element has to be assembled then chilled for an hour before I can even start cooking the other ingredients. However, visions of buttery, flaky crust, melted cheddar and spicy roasted potatoes convinced me one evening the other week. Since it isn’t very healthy, I threw in a handful of broccoli, which I’m sure helped immensely. Plus it reminded me of when I was a kid and my mom would entice us to eat our veggies by topping them with wisps of bright orange, sharp cheddar cheese. That is probably why I’ve never met a broccoli cheddar quiche I didn’t like. Also probably why anything less than Double Xtra Sharp cheddar is dead to me.

Consider pairing this with a light salad dressed with tangy vinaigrette to break up the heaviness.

 

barely adapted from  Joy the Baker’s recipe

Crust:

Stir 1 1/4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon of  sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add 1 stick (or 1/2 cup) of cold, cubed butter and use your fingers to break up into the mixture. Some pieces will be larger than others, which is fine. Pour in 1/3 cup of cold half and half and stir till the flour is moist. Assemble dough into a ball or disk type shape, wrap in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for an hour.

 

Filling:

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Using a mandolin or a knife, chop  1 or 2 large potatoes into even discs. Spread them out on a cookie sheet, pour olive oil over them and season how you’d like. I used coarse salt and black pepper with some cumin and some paprika type spice. Joy uses Old Bay Seasoning. Roast these potatoes till they get soft, maybe a bit crunchy depending on your preference, about 15 minutes or so. Roast about a handful or so of broccoli covered in olive oil, salt and pepper till they get a tad crispy or however you prefer. These will probably roast for closer to 7-10 minutes. Be sure to check on them and stir once in a while.

While these are roasting, shred as much sharp cheddar cheese as you’d like and chop up some fresh chives. Once your dough has chilled for at least an hour, roll out the disk on a floured surface. I like it best when it have uneven edges and I just call it rustic. Place the rolled out dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet. I’ve found folding it lightly in half twice will make the dough easier to pick up and place on the pan. Once your broccoli and potatoes are done roasting, it is time to assemble! Basically, layer it all into the middle section of your large round of dough. I put a layer of cheese on the bottom, put some potatoes on top, arranged some broccoli and sprinkled chives. Do that until you either run out of filling ingredients or your galette is about to explode. Fold the dough around your filling, layering the folded corners on top of each other pressing lightly to keep together. If you want an egg wash for the dough, beat one egg and brush it on top of the dough of your galette. Sprinkle the dough with salt and pepper and put into the oven for about 15 minutes or so, until its golden brown and smells intoxicating. Sprinkle some more fresh chives on top and serve!