Whole Wheat Paneer Capsicum Galette

6:52 PM

A pie is homey. A tart is fancy. And a Galette splits the difference, but is easier than either one.

I didn’t even know what a Galette was until this past year or so and now I’m kind of obsessed with them. Galette is a term used in French cuisine to designate various types of flat round or free form crusty cakes. They are pretty simple once you get the habit of making the crust, and you can pretty much bake any fruit or veggie in one of these free spirited pies.

Galette which is also called a crostata if you’ve got an Italian connection is a free-form pastry, baked without the stability of a pie pan or tart ring. The dough is rolled out flat, then folded around the filling. The appeal of a galette lies in its rusticity. Its juices can leak, the pastry can tear, the filling can sink at the top; it doesn’t matter. As long as you’ve used good fruit or vegetables for the filling and real butter for the dough, it will bake up into something golden brown and utterly gorgeous, the kind of pastry you’re happy to whip up anytime, not just on special occasions.

If you are trying your hand at baking , mastering a galette before trying pies and tarts will give you confidence. For the baking expert, galettes offer ample opportunity for personal expression. Once you have the basic formula for making the galette, you can change it up to suit your tastes, the fruit in season, the leftover vegetables in your fridge.

A savory galette is the easier and more streamlined cousin of a classic quiche. Quiche is a savoury, open-faced pastry crust with a filling of savoury custard with cheese, meat, seafood and vegetables. Quiche can be served hot or cold. It has a buttery pastry filled with any combination of vegetables, cheeses and meats, but without the need to make a custard to anchor it all. In this galette recipe, roasted paneer and green capsicum are combined with tomatoes and fresh herbs for a ratatouille-like mix with a bite, all nestled into a hearty whole-grain crust. Feel free to use any combination of cooked vegetables instead, even leftovers from the fridge. Serve it as you would with a salad for lunch or a light dinner. The outcome was delicious. Crusty, crispy and yummy, filling tasting like grilled paneer. Even typing it is creating a desire to eat it again :-)

Ingredients:

For the PASTRY Base

Whole Wheat Flour - 1 ½ cup
Chilled Butter – ¾ cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Ice cold water - 1/4 cup water

For the Filling:

Paneer - 250 gms ( cubed)
Green Capsicum- 1 (Cubed )
Onion- 1 ( Cubed)
Tomato-2 cut into circles
Tomato puree- 2 to 3 tbsp
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
I tbsp coarsely ground pepper
1 tsp red chilli flakes
Salt
Oil-1 tsp
Melted Butter - 2 tbsp and
Mixed Herbs-1tsp for brushing

METHOD:

Mix together flour and salt Mix in the butter chunks and combine till the flour looks like bread crumbs. Sprinkle ice water little at a time to bring the dough together. Don’t knead. Add a more ice water little by little if you prefer pliable dough without cracks.

Cover this dough with cling foil and keep it in fridge for an hour.

Cut the paneer , onion and capsicum into cubes and keep aside.

Rub the paneer with salt, pepper, chilli flakes and Italian seasoning and keep aside.

In a pan put, 1 tsp of oil. Once hot, add the onion, capsicum and toss for 1 minute on high flame so that the capsicum becomes tender.

Add the tomato puree, salt,coarse pepper powder and cook for a minute or so.

Stir in the Paneer and toss well so that the masalas are well coated with the paneer. Do not over cook.

Check the seasoning and take off from the stove.

Preheat the oven at 180C. Take out the dough. Divide into 4 equal portions and make round balls , roll each into a rough circle and place the filling in the centre for Galette.

Line a baking tray with butter paper. Place the rolled out galette on the tray. Scoop out the capsicum paneer mixture and spread on each disk, leaving 1 and a quarter inches on the sides for folding.

Place a slice of tomato covering the paneer .sprinkle salt and Italian seasoning over it and start to fold the side overlapping one fold over the other.

Bake them at 180 degrees for approximately 30 to 35 minutes or till the pastry is crispy and golden .

Transfer to a cooling rack , leave for 10 minutes . Brush the Galette with warm butter and mixed herb. Serve warm along with a dip of your choice.

This recipe has been adopted from http://masterchefmom.blogspot.in/ which has some great collection of recipes from Traditional to Modern, Street food to Home Cooked, Tiffin Box to Party recipes, Breads, Cakes and many more. With step by step pictures for every recipe MASTERCHEFMOM will excite you to try!!!