Galette is a free form tart or pie from the French cuisine, made with a flaky pastry crust. You can also call it a lazy cook’s pie. Usually galettes are made as desserts with sweet fillings of fruits and dried fruits but really the flaky crust pastry base is a clean canvas that invites creativity and fills ones mind with all sorts of yummy ideas – both sweet and savoury. In my case, more savoury because I’m more a salt and spice person.

Savoury galettes make impressive main course, party starters and teatime snacks, and no rocket science involved in the making either! In fact you can mix n match things that are already in your fridge and pantry to create a star centre piece for your table. This is how my Paneer and Vegetable Galette was born! If you have the pie dough in the freezer, consider half the battle is won already.

I like to make the dough from scratch for my galette because I add flavour into the dough as well. Pastry is not just a bland vessel to hold the filling but actually the foundation to build up the flavour from, so it has to be delicious too. My Paneer and Vegetable Galette has an egg free pastry crust and still tastes very rich and tender. I add almonds to it for that secret depth of flavour which is there but you can’t really pinpoint what it really is and it makes the pastry so much flakier with least effort possible.

My ideal filling is caramelised seasonal vegetables with a hint of garlic and oregano, mixed with the goodness of Homemade Paneer Cheese . But as I’ve mentioned before, you can choose any available ingredients even left over roasts and dry vegetable curries and lentils make excellent filling options.

Make sure that whatever the filling is, it is rich and flavourful, and there is no liquid in it. Spreading a little layer of your favourite sauce – mustard, tomato, BBQ, works like a buffer between the pastry and the filling and makes each bite more palatable.

Ingredients:

For Galette Pastry
2+1/2 cup plain or wheat flour
3/4 cup almonds
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon mixed dried herbs or any dried herb of your choice
1 cup cold, unsalted butter
1/2 cup chilled water

For Paneer & Vegetable Filling:
1 carrot
1 cup peas
1 large potato
A handful green beans
1 onion
1 cup button mushrooms
1/4 cup pickled jalapeรฑos
2 cloves garlic
1 cup paneer or cottage cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano or any of your favourite herb.
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard or tomato sauce

This Is What You Do:
To make the dough for crust, add almonds to a food processor and grind to fine powder.

Add flour, salt and sugar. Whiz again to mix.

Add butter and process till the mixture is like wet sand.

Gradually add cold water till the dough comes together.

Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven at 180 degrees C.

To prepare the paneer and vegetable filling, peel and cut potatoes and carrots into thin slices so that they get cooked while baking in the galette easily. Cut slice onion. Cut green beans into 1/2 inch pieces. Half or slice button mushrooms. Crush and chop garlic.

Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add garlic and sautรฉ for a few seconds, till aromatic.

Add all the vegetables and mushrooms. Add lemon juice, cumin powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Continue to sautรฉ till the vegetables are half done and there is no liquid in the pan. Crumble half of the paneer or cheese of your choice into the vegetables. Set aside.

Lightly grease a pie dish, baking tray or big oven proof plate.

Generously flour a worktop. Roll out the dough into a 1/8 inch thick, big round (10-11 inch). Wrap the pastry over the rolling pin. Move carefully over the pie dish and unroll it.

Spread the mustard or any other sauce over the pastry.

Spread the vegetable mixture in the centre of the pastry, leaving 2-3 inch margin empty all around. Fold the empty sides of pastry over the filling, tucking and overlapping to make little folds all around.

Brush the pastry edges with milk. Bake for 40 minutes or till the pastry is golden brown and cooked through.

Top it with remaining half of the paneer and pickled jalapeรฑos. Slice and serve warm with fresh salad and a chilled drink or as a snack with tea or coffee.

Serves 4

27 Replies to “Paneer and Vegetable Galette”

  1. Adding flavor to the dough is a nice idea and the choice of filling sounds great! Savory Galette does sound yum!

    1. Thank you, PJ! Glad you liked the idea. Sometimes a simplee twist makes a recipe a lot more flavourful, right!

    1. I know, right! I also mostly made the fruity version till this idea came to mind. Now it’s a family favourite!
      Thank you, Lathiya! ๐Ÿ˜Š

  2. I have always thought of galette as sweet dish never think of using savory filling. The paneer and veggies filling makes it a nice and filling snack.

    1. Thank you, Sapna! You are right, it is quite filling. Usually a slice per person with some fresh salad is quite enough. I think now I like savoury galettes more than the sweet ones. ๐Ÿ˜Š

  3. What a fusion recipe!!…Loved the choice of ingredients for the filling and also the idea to add flavour to the dough. I’m in love with this healthy version of galette…Can I have a big slice please?….YUMMMM!!

  4. What a delicious and tempting fusion recipe! Such a delightful tart one can have, all the spices, vegetables and paneer go so well with rich pastry. Great for a picnic!

    1. Absolutely! It’s great for lunchbox, outdoor entertaining and tea parties. I’m delighted to know you liked the idea, Jagruti. ๐Ÿ˜Š

    1. Thank you so much, Uma! The filling recipe is flexible enough to add ingredients your kids particularly enjoy. My girls like an all potato and cheese version too. ๐Ÿ˜Š

  5. Oh wow… what a delicious and healthy version of Gallette. Bookmarked this page. Will try sometime. Thanks for sharing !

  6. What a nice and filling meal this would be, Maria. I quite liked the ingredients of the filling and the nutrition profile. I like the prominence the Jalapenos have in the pic. ๐Ÿ™‚

    BTW, I think of Galette’s as baked open sandwiches. ๐Ÿ˜€

    1. Haha! ๐Ÿ˜„Thank you, Aruna!Jalapenos feature quite prominently in most of my recipes. My life would be incomplete without them. ๐Ÿ˜

  7. Would love a slice of this!! I like that you have added almonds to the crust; fantastic! Something kids would enjoy too; lovely bake!

    1. Thank you so much, Vanitha! I’m glad I added the almonds to the crust too. They made all the difference. ๐Ÿ˜Š

  8. Oh Maria, This has been on my mind since a very long time hence scrolling over and over again to take a look at the beauty. Seems like I have taken a long break from baking and this should be something that I try soon. Lovely choice of fillings and I can imagine, baking your own crust from scratch is always both great experience and flavoursome too. Excellent and I would so love a big slice of this.

  9. Healthy, delicious and flavourful. Lovely share. Bookmarking it. I will try it soon. Thanks for the recipe

  10. This is really such a delicious and healthy version of gallette .loved the filling and i liked the way you used wheat flour and almonds in the pastry, very creative idea.

  11. Can i get a super huge slice of this ultimate galette, especially the addition of paneer is seriously very tempting. What a Fusion galette.

  12. Such a healthy and yummy version of a gallette , loved the flavourful filling and loved how you have used healthy ingridents like wheat flour and almonds in the pastry, awsome share.

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