leek gallette

I cobbled this together from several sources, including this month's Bon Appetit, which is a really good issue. (Side note, I got a free subscription to BA for placing an order from Amazon last Christmas. It started in April, and I have not been impressed, on the whole. I mean, it's fine, but it's not really my speed. This month, however, I feel like I hit the jackpot.) There's an article on leek tarts by Molly of Orangette (which I've read for years), and that helped serve as my inspiration for this creation tonight.

With leeks, my default is to make potato leek soup, which I could eat eternally, but it is good once in awhile to actually try something new.

So I made the "leek confit," which is essentially sauteed/braised leeks with butter, salt and pepper. Quite lovely on its own, but she suggested putting it into a tart shell with egg and cheese and suchlike. . . well, one of the (few) pieces of kitchen equipment I lack is a tart pan (when I told Jon this, his response was, "my god, how can you LIVE this way?!")

I've often read of galettes in Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, but I decided that today, it was time to give it a try! I made a very simple dough: 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1 tsp sugar, 6 tablespoons butter cut into small pieces, and a couple of tablespoons of ice water. I didn't even drag out the processor but combined the dry ingredients and the butter with my fingers, and then tossed in enough water to make it come together. I flattened it out, wrapped in plastic and stuck it in the fridge for an hour or so.

For the leeks, I started out with 3 large-ish leeks, and sauteed them in 3 tablespoons of butter and a couple of pinches of salt, then added a couple tablespoons of water and covered them and let them stew, occasionally stirring, for about an hour. I did wind up thinking that it looked like too much for my little gallette shell, so I scooped some of the cooked leeks aside for another use. I spread them on the pastry and then topped it with thin slices of aged gouda that I get at the Waltham Farmers' Market.

The assembly of the gallette was really easy. The dough is allowed to be rustic, and "pleating" the dough as I folded it over was a piece of cake.

I baked it 30 minutes at 400, and I had to restrain myself from eating more than 2 pieces. Hopefully it will be good for breakfast tomorrow morning . . .