Rye Galette with Red Beet Pesto and Goat Cheese

Do you also love savoury pies?

I do – and now is the best season for all the different kinds of veggies that one can put on them! Just go to the market, bring zucchini, eggplant, pumpkin, some beets, carrots, onions or, you know what? Put your boots on and have a walk in the forest, you might come back with arms of mushrooms!

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Savoury pies are great not only because you can put basically anything you like on them, but also, due to its preparation, they can be prepared in advance, not just baked and eaten immediately. Personally, I prefer to have the dough ready in my fridge so that I can use it whenever – just decide what filling and vegetables I want to eat tonight.

Another great thing about savoury pies is that they can be served as different meals – I typically eat it for dinner while saving a part for lunch next day – what an easy solution for a lunch box! But I have to admit that sometimes my galette doesn’t last till lunch – cause I eat it for breakfast, mnam!

You might be wondering why do I talk about savoury pies, while in the title of the recipe stands “galette”. Well, savoury pies are usually baked in forms and pans, some contain just veggies, some include meat… You might have also heard the name quiche, which refers to a savoury pie with a filling based on eggs and cream.

Galettes are very simple versions of savoury pies – the dough is spread onto a sheet of baking paper and after the filling is put on, it’s edges are rolled over.

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My recipe for galette dough is super simple – there isn’t anything tricky, there isn’t even any waiting, rising and resting needed – you simply mix all ingredients and the dough is ready. If you want to fill and bake your galette directly, go ahead. Or, as I prefer, prepare the dough a day or two earlier (I do it just because of saving time – when having five minutes during cooking, I can prepare a base for our next dinner!)

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When it comes to types of flour, in this recipe, I use 75% rye flour and 25% spelt flour. If you prefer, you can also use only plain wheat flour or a combination that is not so strong in flavour, though still bringing the nutty taste of rye – 75% wheat and 25% rye flour.

For filling of a galette, you can pick basically any veggies you like. Let your imagination run wild or make it as I did – with red beet pesto, zucchini, eggplant, onion and goat cheese!

First time when I saw the recipe for red beet pesto, I was like What? Pesto with red beet? How that can just taste??

But seriously, this is something that you definitely should try! Forget the aversion you got during the years eating in a school canteen, buy a fresh beetroot, peel it, cut into thick slices and bake it – you’ll be surprised what a beetroot really taste like!

When I made my beetroot pesto, I kinda overwhelmed it a bit with the amount, thinking I cannot ever use all this! – but wohooou, how happy I was two days later when coming home from work, hungry and lazy to cook! Rye bread, beetroot pesto and cheese – bake it and enjoy this delicious leftover meal from the empty fridge.

Ps: Don’t get scared when your urine suddenly turns red – you aren’t sick, that’s only the betalain pigments which cause the beetroot’s red colour!

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE DOUGH:

120g fine rye flour

30g coarse rye flour (just for a little bit more rustic look of the crust, you can use only fine flour instead)

50g fine spelt flour

100g cold water

12 apple vinegar

15g olive oil

2tbs oregano

FOR BEETROOT PESTO:

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150g baked red beet

50g sunflower seeds

75g olive oil

25g fresh basil

juice from half of a lemon

1/2 tsp salt

1 clove of garlic

1/2 tbs balsamic vinegar

FOR THE FILLING

1 zucchini, sliced

1 onion, sliced

3 Champignons

1/2 eggplant, sliced

1 beetroot, peeled and sliced

150g sliced goat cheese

FOR GARNISH:

sunflower seeds

basil leaves

olive oil

PREPARE THE PESTO

You can either buy already baked red beet, that’s the easiest option, or as I did, preheat the oven to 200°C, peel the beet, cut it into big pieces and bake until it softens – it takes ca 15-30 minutes.

When the beet is baked and soft, let it cool down

Mix the cold beet in a blender with sunflower seeds, olive oil, basil, lemon, garlic, salt and balsamic vinegar. (I prefer to not my pesto too much, I rather stop the blender when some pieces of red beet and sunflower seeds still remain, but that’s just up to your preference!)

MAKE THE DOUGH

Preheat oven to 180°C

In the bowl of a kneader, (or in a bowl – by hands) mix flour, salt and oregano

Add all liquids, knead with a hook on a lower speed until a homogenous dough is obtained

FINISH THE GALETTE

Place the dough on a sheet of baking paper and stretch it with a roller into a circle, approximately 2 mm thick.

Spread a layer of red beet pesto on the base, leave the edges free!

Put veggies and cheese all over the layer of pesto

Fold the edges of the dough over the filling

Bake for approximately 40 minutes

After baking, let the galette cool down on a rack

Decorate with fresh basil and sunflower seeds

Serve, eat, enjoy!