The word galette can have several meanings. One is a cake called Galette de Rois, which is eaten all over France on January 6th for the celebration of the epiphany. Another is for a savory buckwheat crepe eaten in Brittany. The most common use refers to a freely formed rustic tart. Galettes can be sweet and filled with fruit, or savory like this one.
The dough for this recipe comes from Elizabeth Pruitt's Tartine All Day. I changed her recipe from oat flour to buckwheat and simplified it a bit. For a long time I tried to develop a buckwheat crust that was tender and crumbly in just the right way. I think her use of cream cheese in a gluten-free dough is genius. It gives the dough both lightness and structure. This recipe makes two discs of dough. Each disc makes one tart, and feeds two people as a main course. The extra dough freezes well.
The galette is filled with long cooked kale and cashew ricotta. Though it may not look it, the cashew ricotta and buckwheat crust make a surprisingly filling tart. The cashew cheese makes enough for two tarts. It's easier to get the right texture with this amount of nuts than if you blend a smaller amount. If you make only one tart the "ricotta" is great on toast or for dipping crudite.
The amount of kale in the recipe makes enough for one tart, double up if you are making two. The kale will look like a lot, but like all cooked greens it will shrink to almost an eighth of it's original amount. The kale cooks for a long time. Longer than you probably cook your vegetables. Cooking the heck out of vegetables may not be the most nutritious but it's very tasty. When you cook vegetables for a long time they gift you their sweetness.
Ingredients:
For the Buckwheat Crust:
3/4 cups + 2 Tablespoons brown rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons buckwheat flour
8 ounces Cream Cheese
8 ounces unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
You can mix this dough two ways. The easiest is with a food processor, but you can also make it by hand. Either way, you need to cut the butter and the cream cheese into small cubes about the size of playing dice. You want the butter and the cream cheese to be very cold. For the cream cheese I often pop it in the freezer first to make it easier to cut.
To make it in the food processor: Pulse the three flours and salt in the processor to combine. Add the cream cheese and butter. Pulse 8 times to combine, then let the processor run until the dough comes together. It will go from looking sandy to becoming a cohesive dough. The telling sign is that the sound inside the processor will change. Listen and keep going until the sound changes.
To make it by hand: In a medium bowl, whisk the three flours and salt to combine. Add the cream cheese and butter to the flour. Rub the cream cheese and butter into the flour. Think of it this way - you are trying to break the butter and cream cheese into smaller pieces and while doing so you are trying to coat them with flour. Stop when the flour starts looking like slightly damp sand. In baking parlance the term is shaggy. You want a shaggy dough.
On a clean surface knead your dough to make it come together even more. Divide in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Let it rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
For the Cashew Crema:
1 1/3 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 1 hour and up to 24.
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grapeseed oil (it's okay to use all olive oil. Just make sure you have 1/2 a cup total. )
4 large cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons salt
Peel and slice the garlic in half lengthwise. In a small saucepan heat the garlic and the oil over medium-low heat. Slowly cook the garlic so it softens and infuses the oil. You want to do this low and slow so that the garlic does not burn. Cook the garlic for about 10 minutes.
Place the cashews, garlic, oil, and salt in a food processor and process until you have a paste. A high power blender works here as well.
For the Kale:
2-3 bunches of kale per tart (You want 8 cups of chopped kale. If your kale is scrawny get 4 bunches.)
1 shallot
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
Thinly slice the shallot. Rinse the kale. Remove the ribs and chop. Heat the olive oil in a medium sized pot, add the shallots and cook until they start becoming translucent. Add the kale, salt and water. Cover and cook on medium low heat for about 20 minutes. Remove the lid and stir. Turn the heat up a smidge and let the kale cook for another 20 minutes stirring occasionally. If it looks dry but not completely wilted add 1/4 cup of water. The kale will eventually reduce to about 2 cups and be very soft. Remove from heat and set aside.
Rolling the dough and making the galette: For softer doughs, like this one, I like to roll between sheets of plastic wrap. This is also a fool-proof way of rolling dough if you don't feel super confident in your rolling abilities, yet. You want to roll the dough as evenly as possible to a 1/4" thickness. If you don't own a rolling pin a bottle of wine will work in a pinch. Try to roll your dough into a circle. You do this by turning your dough clockwise every few rolls. Since this is a rustic tart it does not have to be perfect.
Peel the plastic off the top, and flip the dough on to a parchment lined half-sheet tray. Peel the other plastic off. If for some reason some of the dough rips press it back together again.
Spread half the cashew "ricotta" over the tart dough leaving a 1/2" border. Evenly spread it by using the back of a spoon. Top with the kale. Fold the edges of your tart barely over your filling. Fold it inch by inch and press it together if it cracks.
Place your tart in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up. Preheat your oven to 325°
Bake your tart for 15-20 minutes. The exact time will depend on your oven. Allow it to cool a bit before slicing it.
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