Fall Veggie and Ricotta Galette

fall veggie galette I love the rustic and free form look of a galette, it doesn’t have to be perfectly round or symmetrical, it’s stress free to make, and it always comes out looking pretty.

fall veggie galette There’s a colorful and flavorful mix of fall veggies inside this galette, it has a combo of cauliflower, butternut squash, onion and kale, this just may become one of your favorite fall dinners!

The roasted veggies get folded into a ricotta and parmesan mixture then baked together in perfect harmony.

fall veggie galette But can we talk about the crust now? It’s homemade, don’t use store bought please! If you have a food processor this will only take you five minutes to make, the crust is what makes this whole galette so amazing.

The hidden secret is polenta in the crust, you can also use a fine ground cornmeal as well and because of this polenta addition, it becomes a very sturdy, crunchy yet still very flaky crust, plus it holds and seals in the filling perfectly.

fall veggie galette

Feel free to play around with this recipe using different veggies of your choice, but don’t play around with the dough, trust me!

Follow me on Instagram, I’m always cooking up something different during the week.

5.0 from 7 reviews
Fall Veggie and Ricotta Galette
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • DOUGH (ADAPTED FROM EATING WELL)
  • 1 cup of all purpose flour, I use unbleached
  • ½ cup of polenta or fine yellow cornmeal
  • ½ teaspoon, salt
  • 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • ¼ to ⅓ cup of ice water
  • a pinch of black pepper
  • FILLING
  • 1 cup or so each of pre-roasted cauliflower and butternut squash, or other veggies of your choice
  • ¼ red onion, diced
  • a handful of curly kale
  • 1 garlic clove, finely minced
  • a pinch of thyme
  • RICOTTA MIXTURE
  • 1 cup of ricotta, drained of moisture
  • 2 eggs beaten, one for the filling and another for brushing dough
  • ½ cup of grated parmesan or romano cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Prepare your dough in a food processor by pulsing the flour, polenta salt and pepper together. Add the butter and process until combined. then while it's running add the ice water down the tube a little at a time until the dough starts to come together into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for half an hour.
  2. Preheat oven to 400F
  3. For the filling, drizzle olive oil into a skillet add the onion and garlic and cook til it starts to soften an lightly brown, meanwhile toss in the chopped kale and saute til it starts to limp. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool down.
  4. In a bowl add ricotta, egg, grated cheese, thyme and salt and pepper to taste, mix til incorporated, then fold in the roasted veggies and the onion, garlic and kale saute.
  5. Remove the dough from the fridge, let it sit for 10 minutes at room temp then on a sheet of parchment roll it out to about 14 inches in diameter, don't worry if it's not perfect, just take your time. Place it onto a rimmed baking sheet.
  6. Spread the ricotta and veggie mixture onto the dough leaving a 2 inch border all around. Fold the edges up and pleat where needed to seal in good.
  7. Brush the crust with the remaining beaten egg, you won't use all of it.
  8. Sprinkle crust with grated cheese and ground pepper.
  9. Drizzle the top with olive oil.
  10. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown and ricotta is set.

 

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Tomato Bread

tomato bread It may be the last days of summer but there are plenty of tomatoes still available and they still taste amazing. I see cherry tomatoes everywhere and they are just perfect for my tomato bread.

Even in the dead of winter you could still make this tomato bread because quite honestly somehow they taste pretty decent, either that or I’m just desperate.

tomato bread This bread is so fun to make, it’s SUPER easy and tastes off the charts and the bonus is the pretty presentation, so what’s not to like?

Take a skinny baguette, cut it in half lengthwise and make a trench right down the middle by pulling out some of the bread then you’ll be able to easily place your tomatoes in there securely.

I like using a skinny baguette but I was thinking you could use a wider one, why not? just make more trenches. You could even cut a large ciabatta loaf and dot the tomatoes all around in little trenches, use your imagination.

tomato bread Prepare a foil lined baking sheet, drizzle the bottom with olive oil, set your tomatoes stem side down then drizzle each piece of bread all over with olive oil including the tomatoes.

Take some shredded mozzarella and place it randomly all over the sliced baguette, less is more, then grind some black pepper all around.

Place them into a heated 375 degree oven for about 12 minutes or so, the bread will crisp, the mozzarella will be golden brown and the tomatoes will wrinkle and burst, and the best part is the juice will drip into the crusty bread, oh my!

tomato bread Garnish it with finely chopped basil of course because that’s a must, then I guarantee that after your first bite you will shout out the words OMG!

tomato bread

Here’s a “toast” literally, to the end of summer!

Want to see all the things I’m cooking up during the week? You can follow Proud Italian Cook on Instagram here.

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Spaghetti all’ Amatriciana

spaghetti amatriciana This past weekend the Italian town of Amatrice would have held it’s 50th annual food festival celebrating it’s famous pasta dish, spaghetti all’ amatriciana. Food lovers from around the world are serving up this pasta dish to raise funds and bring awareness for all the victims of the devastating earthquake in Italy.

amatriciana sauce ingredientsThere are many different variations to this simple rustic dish but traditionally you will always find these four ingredients, tomatoes, ( preferably San Marzano) guanciale, pecorino cheese, peperoncino for some heat and a hearty pasta shape that can hold up to the sauce.

spaghetti amatriciana There are quite a few ways we can donate and help in the recovery, my friend Domenica Marchetti took the time and posted an extensive list on her website, Domenica Cooks. Here’s the link. As we all know, every little bit can help!

spaghetti amatriciana

Why not gather your friends and family together, make a donation and feed them this symbolic dish of spaghetti all’ amatriciana, it’s hearty, comforting and so delicious!

5.0 from 2 reviews
Spaghetti all' Amatriciana
 
Author:
Ingredients
  • 4 oz. guanciale, ( pork jowl) cut into small strips. (if you can't find guanciale you can sub with pancetta)
  • 2 cups of crushed San marzano tomatoes
  • 1 or 2 peperoncino
  • grated Pecorino cheese
  • 8 oz. of bucatini type pasta, I used DeCecco #12
Instructions
  1. Get a large pot of salted water to boiling.
  2. In the meantime make your sauce.
  3. In a rimmed heavy bottom skillet add the guanciale and cook till it renders it's fat and becomes golden, be careful not to crisp it like bacon, it should be soft and golden.
  4. Remove excess fat then drizzle in some olive oil and add your crushed tomatoes and peperoncino.
  5. Put heat on medium high and let all flavors blend and cook down together.
  6. When pasta is done cooking take tongs and lift it directly from the pot of boiling water into the skillet with the sauce, you want a little water to cling.
  7. Toss the pasta several times in the sauce with the tongs.
  8. Turn off the heat and throw in a handful of pecorino, letting the cheese melt into the sauce, becoming nice and creamy.
  9. Plate it into your individual serving bowls and add more cheese on top.
  10. Enjoy!

 

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