The most common question I get about this recipe is “What is a galette?” Many people are unfamiliar with this term, which I only learned about a few years ago. A galette is a rustic tart, which means a pie crust in the most un-fancy of shapes. Simply put, this means you have permission to not worry about how pretty the final shape is! Does it get any easier?
Ok, let me guess. Now, you’re going to tell me you’ve never made a pie crust. And that pie crusts are scary and difficult and trigger your anxiety. If that’s you, buy a pre-made one.
If you’re willing to give it a try, this is the time to make your own pie crust? Why? Remember, a galette is rustic. That means if anyone tries to tell you it’s uneven or looks funny, that you were aiming for a rustic look!
Ready to give making your own crust a go? Then get out a bowl and measure 1 1/4 cups of flour and a half teaspoon of salt. Mix these two together and use a fork (or a pastry blender if you want to be fancy…I actually don’t own one of these yet. Might have to change that!) to blend in 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening. The goal here is to blend until you have coarse crumbs. Then add about 3 Tablespoons of water. I try to make sure my dough is a little on the drier side. You can always add a few more drops of water if it’s too dry, but you can’t take water back out.
Once you have a dough that barely sticks together, sprinkle a little flour onto the pan and roll the dough out. I recommend a large pizza stone or pan. You can see I’ve made a lot of pizzas on mine!
Now, take a prepared jar of pesto (you could be fancy and make this yourself if you have a lot of basil on hand–I do not, so I bought the jarred kind) and spread a Tablespoon or two onto the crust. I went more towards 2 T. Make sure to leave a little room for a crust.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. While the oven is preheating, heat some olive oil in a large, deep skillet (or even a wok). Chop an onion (or use a half of an onion if it’s large) and saute it in the oil until it’s translucent and tender. Add a clove (or several–I’m always a fan of extra garlic!) of chopped garlic.
While the onion is sauteing (or perhaps before–it might take a bit), you’ll want to clean your spinach if you’re using fresh spinach. I also like to take the stems off, especially on the bits that are very long. If you prefer, you can use frozen spinach. If you choose to go that route, you’ll want to make sure it’s thawed and squeeze out excess moisture. Then add then add the spinach to the cooked onion and garlic mixture. Cook until the spinach wilts. Add in shredded cooked chicken–you could use prepared rotisserie chicken for this. I had made a slow cooked roasted chicken a few days before, so I used the last of it in this recipe. Then add in about 1/2 cup of the pesto and a bit of black pepper. Stir this mixture up.
Now, it’s time to spread the mixture over your prepared crust. Don’t worry too much about what it looks like. It’s supposed to be rustic, remember?
Top this with shredded mozzarella cheese and slices of roma tomato.
Now, bake for 20–25 minutes. Then, cut and eat!
Chicken, Spinach and Tomato Galette
from the newspaper Food section, which reprinted the recipe from Pillsbury: The Big Book of More Baking with Refrigerated Dough by Grace Wells, Editor
1 9″ pie crust (homemade or store bought)
1/2 cup pesto (and 1-2 T for crust)
2 T. Olive oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
6 c. fresh spinach (or kale , or frozen spinach, thawed and drained)
2 c. shredded cooked chicken
1/4 t. black pepper
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 medium roma tomato, sliced
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Flour a pizza stone or baking sheet and roll out crust onto it. Spread 1-2 T pesto onto crust, leaving a 1-2″ crust.
In a large non-stick skillet on medium, heat oil. Cook onion and garlic 1-2 minutes or until tender, stirring often. Stir in spinach, chicken, pepper, and remaining pesto. Cook 2-3 minutes, or until greens are wilted and chicken is heated. Stir often. Spoon chicken mixture over center of crust to cover pesto. Sprinkle with cheese. Fold edges of crust over filling, pleating if needed. Top with tomato.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.
Hungry Like the Wolfe 