Puff Pastry Galette

Galettes or as Caleb would call it, “bah-lets,” has been one of his favorite foods since he was two years old.  I could correct him on how to pronounce it properly but I think it’s cute the way he says it with excitement.  I swear I can put any vegetable on his galette and every single time, he’d gobble it all up.  Well except for turnips, which I’ve never tried.

Galettes originated in France and is traditionally made with buckwheat flour for the crust but in our house I’m always using puff pastry.  I buy Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets.  Not sure why I still haven’t experimented on making my own puff pastry dough but that will happen soon, and I’ll post a recipe if it turns out really good. For now, store bought will do for the sake of immediate pictures and getting this recipe out for you to enjoy.

Anyway, it’s a hit with Lil CJ and if your little one ends up loving it, great!  It’s a way to get them to eat some veggies.  Add even more by pairing it with a side of fresh salad or fruits.  The choice of toppings are endless.  As for the base, you can use pizza sauce, cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt, or even hummus.  I usually don’t put a base and it still comes out delicious.  This recipe is made with sautéed red bell peppers, sweet onions, and mushrooms topped with sunny-side-up eggs.  Here are other combinations you can try on your galette:

• Sliced pears with gorgonzola, crushed almonds/walnuts, drizzled with honey

• Sliced strawberries with arugula and goat cheese

• Margherita style w/fresh mozzarella, basil, and sliced tomatoes

• Sliced figs, gorgonzola, and caramelized onions drizzled with balsamic reduction

I love finding ways to make food a bit healthier.  So with store bought pastry puffs, I cut the sheets in smaller portions, stretch them out so thin but still intact to make it a bigger portion and fit enough veggies with a sunny-side-up egg!  The end product will be light, crispy, and delicious.  It also ends up looking so fancy, it’ll look like you put more effort into it than you actually did!  The best part is that you just got more servings than originally accounted for per box, cutting the carb content per serving.

Ready to try it?  But first, read some helpful tips I’ve gathered for you…

Tips

• To cut future prep and thawing time, slightly thaw the pastry dough until partially frozen so you can pre-cut your galette pieces before storing them in the freezer.  Use parchment paper to prevent pieces from sticking together.

• Stretch your dough until it’s thin.  But before you do so, leave it out in room temperature for 15-20 minutes to make this task easier. You will start with a small piece of pastry puff dough and stretch it to almost double in size.  This lowers the carb intake per serving, allows space for veggies (or any topping of your choice), and a faster baking time.  For example, the Pepperidge Farm Pastry Sheets that I use comes in two trifold sheets.  The whole box equates to 12 servings.  However, I get 18 servings per box by doing the following (see pictures above): cut the trifold sheet along the crease to make three equal pieces.  Then further cut each piece into three equal parts which measures about 3”x3” per piece.  If you want bigger cuts to accommodate even more veggies and two eggs (I do this sometimes), cut each puff pastry sheet into 6 even portions which measures about 3”x5” per piece.

• Prep and freeze your favorite toppings for future use: I sauté a big batch of my favorite toppings (see below recipe for one of them), then divide them into small portions before freezing.  This way, you can take just the amount of pastry dough and toppings you need out of the freezer the night before to enjoy in the morning.

• Create a raised border for your dough.  Use your vegetables to create a border along the edges or even the corner of a shallow rimmed roasting pan for some edges.  This helps to contain a sunny-side-up egg. You can also use a ramekin (see my pictures below).

• If you like having a runny egg yolk for your sunny-side-up egg, bake galette only until egg whites have solidified.

• Use the toaster oven to save energy if preparing for up to two people.

Ingredients for Sautéed Veggie Topping (Makes about 4-5 servings)

• 1 Red bell peppers, 1/2 inch thick slices

• 1 Sweet onion, 1/2 inch thick sliced

• 1 4oz canned mushrooms, sliced

• 2 tbsp oil (avocado or extra light olive oil)

Directions 

• Lightly oil pan

• On medium to high heat, add mushrooms and onions.  Sauté until onions are soft and translucent.

• Increase heat to medium-high, add red bell peppers, and sauté for another 3 minutes.  Turn off heat and set aside.

Ingredients for Galette (Makes 1 galette)

• 1 puff pastry dough (3”x3”)

• Optional: 2 tbsp base sauce (sour cream or cream cheese)

• 1/3 cup of veggies (see above for my Sautéed Veggie Topping recipe)

• 1 egg (optional)

• Salt & cracked pepper to taste

Directions for Galette

1. Preheat toaster oven or conventional oven to 425F (convection oven to 400F).

2. Line roasting pan with parchment paper or foil. If using foil, lightly oil foil to avoid dough from sticking.

3. Stretch puff pastry dough until thin but intact to make a bigger square/rectangle shape.

4. Lay stretched dough on pan and fold up all four sides to create a raised border or “pocket” for your fillings.

5. Optional: apply a layer of your preferred base sauce. A little goes a long way

6. Arrange your choice of veggies/fruits on pastry to create a center pocket for your egg (or check out my Sauteed Veggie Topping above). If you are not adding egg to your galette, skip to Step 11.

7. Place galette in preheated oven to bake for about 8 minutes or until pastry has puffed and is lightly golden on edges.

8. Take galette out, depress the center of the galette to create a deeper pocket and gently place egg in center of pastry.  If your egg whites run off, no worries—your end product will still look good.

9. Bake for another 5-6 minutes or until egg whites have just solidified for a runny egg yolk.  Rotate roasting pan halfway through to evenly cook eggs.

10. Season with salt and cracked pepper to your taste and enjoy!

11. ***No egg version: After arranging your veggies on dough, bake for about 10-12 minutes or until pastry has puffed and is golden brown on edges. Enjoy!

What’s your favorite toppings? If you tried this recipe, I’d love to see your creation so please don’t forget to include me in your hashtag at #PlayteFull.