Click here for the WTC recipe index, and scroll to the bottom of this post for a printer-friendly version of today’s recipe from guest author Jenny Rosenstrach!
guest spotlight
From Caro: I am SO excited to introduce you to Jenny Rosenstrach. (Though many of you will already know her from her work in Bon Appétit, The WSJ, NYT, Real Simple, NPR, etc., etc.) Her delicious — and DOABLE — plant-forward recipes are reason enough to read and cook from her newsletter, Dinner: A Love Story, but her musings on meal time, specifically the family meal, are not to be missed. I can’t wait to hear what you think of the meal she’s shared with us!
I’m Jenny Rosenstrach — a food writer and New York Times-bestselling cookbook author — and I’ve written Dinner: A Love Story for over a decade. My most recent NYT-bestselling book, The Weekday Vegetarians, is about a vow we made in my house three years ago that goes like this: Eat less meat, sort of. In other words, we only eat our roast chickens and pork chops on the weekend, fueling ourselves with mostly plant-based meals from Monday to Friday, and, I have to say, it’s become a completely addictive lifestyle. (More on that here.) My daughter now claims she’d prefer my Chickpea Caesar Salad over a Shack burger any day of the week.
From Caro:
it’s time for another galette!
Everyone went BANANAS over the tomato galette from this summer, so when Jenny offered to share her mushroom-leek galette with us, I was so excited. It’s the perfect cozy fall meal. Caramelized leeks and mushrooms! Nutritional yeast or cheese for a kick of umami flavor. Flaky pie crust! It’s packed with veggies so it’s a complete meal — no need to make a side or salad to go along with this one, but I’ll link a great salad to serve with it, if you want to. Yum, enjoy!
simple and elegant
Every time I make this, my husband says the same thing: “I’d pay $25 for this at a restaurant.” He knows that complimenting the cook is 100 percent mandatory in our house, so the praise is not all that unusual, but this particular feedback makes me laugh because it’s a dinner I almost always make with store-bought pie dough, frozen peas, and supermarket mushrooms. And look how elegant it is!
Would it be better if I used farmers’ market hen-of-the-woods mushrooms or wrapped everything up in a homemade pâte brisée? I mean, yeah, of course — but I get a ridiculous amount of pleasure seeing how everyday ingredients can be transformed into something so beautiful and delicious. The other fun thing here? Pressing nutritional yeast right into the dough, which cuts the meatiness a bit with a bright umami surprise.
mushroom-leek galette
From The Weekday Vegetarians, by Jenny Rosenstrach
Serves 3-4
Cook time: ~50 minutes (~25 minutes active, 20-25 minutes inactive)
Tools:
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 large or 2 medium leeks, white parts only, finely chopped (about 3 cups) (how to cut and clean leeks)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 pound mushrooms (any kind: cremini, white, shiitake, etc.), stemmed, cleaned, and roughly chopped (about 7 cups)
Leaves from 3 fresh thyme sprigs
1/3 cup frozen peas
1 (9-inch) round of pie dough (store-bought is fine!)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast or 2 tablespoons of any cheese
1 large egg, whisked (or cooking spray)
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling, preferably Maldon
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
In a large skillet set over medium heat, combine 3 tablespoons of the extra-virgin olive oil, 1 large (or 2 medium) thinly sliced leeks (white parts only), a big pinch of kosher salt and black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are soft, about 4 minutes. Push the leeks to the perimeter of the pan, then add the remaining 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 pound roughly chopped mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms have given off their juices and then shriveled, about 10 minutes, leaving the leeks on the perimeter, stirring them occasionally to prevent them from burning. Stir in the leaves from 3 sprigs of fresh thyme and 1/3 cup frozen peas and cook another minute, stirring in the leeks.
Place 1 (9-inch) round of pie dough on the prepared sheet pan and sprinkle 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (or 2 tablespoons of cheese) all over it, pressing the flakes into the dough with your fingers or a rolling pin. Spoon the mushroom-leek filling into the center, spreading it in an even layer and leaving a 1-inch border, then fold the edges in over the filling, overlapping as you work your way around the perimeter. Brush the crust with the whisked egg (or just spray with cooking spray) and sprinkle with the flaky sea salt. Bake until the crust is golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
Slice and enjoy!
Notes:
I want a side: The simple green salad with apple cider vinaigrette from the healthy sloppy joes would be absolutely perfect to serve alongside this galette.
Must have meat: This meal is rich and filling without the addition of animal protein, but you could add some cooked ground sausage or sliced prosciutto to the mix if you’d like.
Make it cheesy: If you want a cheesier galette, similar to the tomato galette, sprinkle up to 1/2 cup of cheese on the pie dough before adding the filling. Any cheese you have will work, but 2 ounces of goat cheese or blue cheese would be wonderful, or up to 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar, havarti, gouda, or some other melty cheese.
I’ve got time to make my own dough: Use this one from the tomato galette recipe!
Prep ahead: This is a perfect make-ahead meal. You can cook the mushroom-leek filling and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you have room in your fridge, you could also prep the whole galette, cover the sheet pan tightly with foil or plastic wrap, and pop it into the fridge up to a day ahead of time (just don’t brush the dough with the egg wash until it’s ready to bake). You could also cook the whole thing up to a day in advance, store it covered in the fridge, and reheat it just before dinner.
Love your leftovers: Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. This is also a freezer-friendly meal, whether you want to save your leftovers in individual portions (freeze them in Ziplocs, if so!) or prep the whole thing ahead of time to enjoy weeks or months down the road. It’s fine to freeze this galette (for up to 3 months) either after it’s been cooked or before you bake it. If you do the latter, leave off the egg wash until it’s time to bake and add about 15-20 minutes to the cook time since you’re cooking it from frozen. To freeze an unbaked galette: pop it in the freezer on the baking sheet for about an hour to let it harden, then wrap it tightly in foil and plastic wrap.
Dairy-free/gluten-free: This galette’s already dairy-free if you go the nutritional yeast route. For gluten-free, make your own crust and use a gf alternative to flour (click here for both the recipe and a gf rec).
Substitutions:
EVOO: Olive oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, canola oil — whatever you have!
Leek: 1 large yellow or Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
Red pepper flakes: Omit if needed
Mushrooms: The beauty of a savory galette is that it is endlessly adaptable. Zucchini would make a nice stand-in for the mushrooms as would butternut squash (you can just add thin raw slices to the dough). You could also use cabbage or just straight onions cooked down like the mushrooms.
Leaves from 3 fresh thyme sprigs: 1/3 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano, rosemary, or another herb you love
Peas: You could, of course, use fresh green peas if you have those on hand instead of frozen. Or see the mushroom subs for alternate veggies to swap in for peas.
Pie dough: If you have all-purpose flour, kosher salt, black pepper, and butter, you can make your own dough! Click here for a recipe.
Nutritional yeast: 2 tablespoons of any cheese (or up to 1/2 a cup, if you want a cheesier galette)
Egg: Cooking spray or olive oil
Flaky sea salt: Omit if needed
Can I use store bought frozen pie crust?
New to this substack. I was looking under 15 minute meals and this one and many others came up. There is no way - especially with all the prep work - that any of these take 15 minutes. I'm sure they are great but this (like most other "make it quick" recipes are just not.