Mixed Squash Galette

A galette is like a pie or tart only not as fancy. Most people think of galettes as dessert, but they can just as easily be made with savory ingredients like the one I made today.

I love that there's no wasted dough with a galette, and you can made it whatever shape you like. You just roll out the dough, arrange the filling, fold up the sides, and bake. Also, you can put almost anything you want inside, so long as it isn't too wet. So it's a great vehicle for creativity in the kitchen.

You can use any pie crust dough recipe you're comfortable with or you can buy an unbaked, frozen crust. You can even substitute filo dough and produce a similar product.

For my galette, I used slices of zucchini, butternut squash, onion, and tomato, as well as two leaves of kale. I sauteed all of the vegetables, except the tomato, to soften them a little. However, with the exception of the kale, this step is not necessary if you like your vegetables crunchy.

For the crust:

1-1/2 C flour
1 t salt
1 stick very cold butter, cut into small pieces
3-4 T ice water

1. Place the flour and salt in the work bowl of a food processor and process for 1-2 seconds until combined.

2. Add the butter and process until the butter is evenly distributed in small pebbles throughout the flour.

3. Add 2-3 T ice water and process just until the dough will hold together. Test this by pinching a small amount of dough between your fingers. If it sticks together, it's been processed enough. If not, process in a little more ice water and test again.

4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and press the dough together. Wrap and refrigerate until you're ready to fill the galette.

For the galette:

1-2 T olive oil
1-2 medium zucchini, sliced in 1/4" slices
1/3 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and sliced in 1/4" slices
1 medium onion, sliced crosswise in 1/4" slices
2-3 leaves kale, sliced crosswise 1/4-1/2"
1 large tomato, cut crosswise in 1/4" slices
salt and pepper to taste
1 recipe pie crust (see above)
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

2. In a large skillet, heat the oil and briefly saute the zucchini, butternut squash, and onion slices in a single layer on both slices until barely tender. Sprinkle them with a little salt while they're cooking. Cook slices in several batches, if necessary. Remove from the skillet and cool.

3. In the same skillet, adding a little extra oil if necessary, saute the kale until wilted. Season with a little salt and pepper while cooking. When done, remove from the skillet to cool.

4. Remove the pie crust dough from the fridge and roll out on a floured pastry cloth or cheet of wax paper. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet.

5. Layer the slices of zucchini, butternut squash, and onions, slightly overlapping each other in the center of the dough, leaving about 2" of dough all the way around. Mix in the wilted kale. Top with a layer of sliced tomatoes.

6. Carefully fold up the edges of the dough. It's fine if the dough pleats a little.

7. Beat the egg in a cup and brush the dough with the beaten egg. Sprinkle a little kosher or large grain salt on the dough, if desired, and back at 425 F for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 375 F and bake until the crust is golden, above 30-40 minutes longer.

Serve hot, warm, room temperature, or cold. This recipe makes 4 generous servings.

You can sprinkle in any herbs you like when you're arranging the vegetables. You can also sprinkle grated cheese over the vegetables for more protein and flavor.

Don't hesitate to experiment with fillings of your own. It's all good.

Today's bounty included:

From Sage Mountain Farm: Hybrid tomatoes, sweet candy onions, Fingerling potatoes, Rainbow Swiss chard, and garlic.

From Underwood Family Farms: Galia melon, zucchini, Brandywine tomatoes, green cabbage, kale, yellow zucchini, butternut squash, green leaf lettuce, Blue Lake beans, round carrots, golden beets and candy beets.

From Rancho Santa Cecilia: Hass avocados and lemons.

And from Silver Lake Farms: mustard and arugula microgreens.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Slow-Cooked String Beans with Tomato and Onion

These days most people eat their vegetables on the crunchy side. If not entirely raw, they're usually minimally cooked. While some vegetables are certainly best when they're cooked lightly, other vegetables can withstand longer cooking, and string beans are one of those vegetables. In fact, string beans are so versatile you find them in salads, soups, and stews; and of course as a side dish.

This is one of my favorite ways to prepare string beans as a side dish. The lovely Blue Lake beans that were in our box today are delicious prepared this way. It's also a great way to use the tougher wide beans that are best well-cooked.

2-3 T olive oil
1 medium red or brown onion
1 lb string beans
1 C chopped red tomato
1 T dried oregano or 2 T chopped fresh oregano
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet with a lid.

2. Cut onion in half lengthwise and the cut lengthwise into strips. Add to skill and saute, stirring periodically, until translucent.

3. Trim the ends off the string beans and pull off any tough strings, but leave beans whole. Add beans to skillet and stir to coat with oil. Cook over medium-low heat, partially covered for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow both the onions and the beans to get a little browned.

4. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and chopped oregano. Continue cooking, uncovered, until most of the liquid from the tomatoes has evaporated, usually another 5-10 minutes.

5. Turn heat down. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

Today's bounty included:

From Underwood Family Farms: Yellow zucchini, bi-color corn, raspberries, eggplant, Hungarian bell pepper, red and green leaf lettuce, Blue Lake beans, Texas sweet onion, and chard.

From Sage Mountain Farm: yellow patty pan squash, cucumbers, Easter Egg radishes, Chantennay carrots, green scallions, and collard greens.

From Sweet Tree Farms: white nectarines, pluots, and heirloom tomatoes.

And from Silver Lake Farms: arugula, cilantro and mustard microgreens.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Great Guacamole!

Here's what Farmer John had for us in Silver Lake this week:

Red beets
Arugula
Negi onions
Collard greens
Russian kale
Red & green lettuce
Tat soi
Squash blossoms with baby zucchini
Cucumbers
Avocados

The minute I saw those avocados, I thought guacamole. Though I'll have to wait a few days until mine get soft enough to mash up; that's fine. It'll give me time to check out the Silver Lake, Atwater, or Hollywood farmer's markets this weekend and pick up the other ingredients: a beautiful ripe tomato - they're just beginning to show up from local farms, a juicy lemon - I'll get one right off my tree, and a fiery jalapeno. Hang on to one of theose Negi green onions; they're delicious in guacamole.

There are lots of great recipes for guacamole. Here's one of mine:

2 ripe avocados
1 large Negi green onion
1 small ripe tomato
1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro or more (or less) to taste
1 t to 1 T minced jalapeno to taste (optional)
Juice of 1 large lemon (more or less to taste)
Red hot sauce, such as Cholula, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Split the avocados in half lengthwise. Remove the pit. Using a spoon, scoop the avocado flesh into a bowl and mash to your desired consistency. I like my guacamole to have some large chunks of avocado, so I don't mash it until completely smooth, but you can if you prefer.

2. Wash, dry, and mince the green onion. Add it to the avocado.

3. Wash dry, and dice the small tomato and add it to the bowl. If it's particularly juicy, you may want to drain off the juice.

4. If you're using cilantro, wash, dry, and chop it finely and add it to the bowl. I love the flavor of cilantro, but some people think it tastes like soap. Apparently this flavor sensation is genetic. So, it's fine to omit the cilantro. You can substitute a smaller amount (2 T) of chopped parsley, if you'd like.

5. The amount of jalapeno you use is truly a matter of taste. One tablespoon of minced jalapeno will produce a pretty spicy guacamole. So, start with a small amount and add more until you achieve your desired level of hotness. Use gloves when chopping the jalapeno. Remove and discard the seeds.

6. Squeeze the juice of one large lemon into the bowl and stir all the ingredients until well-combined.

7. Add salt, pepper, and a few shots of red hot sauce to taste. Stir again and serve or chill before serving, but not too long, as the guacamole will begin to darken.

The food writer, Harold McGee, says it's a myth that leaving the avocado pit in your guacamole prevents browning. Browning is caused by exposure to air and the pit only blocks this exposure where it actually touches the guacamole. The lemon juice in this recipe will discourage the browning process for a short while. You can further inhibit browning by placing plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole before chilling it. However, it's best to eat guacamole soon after preparing it.

Enjoy!

Shelley