Sweet Potato Galettes from Ottolenghi
So, I was sitting at Kirala, one of my favorite sushi places, eating lunch, which happens to be across the street from the Berkeley Bowl, and I thought, "Hmm, I should make dinner tonight."* Such is my life. While eating one meal, I am often contemplating the next one. This was the result.
*Full disclaimer, that day was not today, as I am laid up in bed because I broke my tailbone (I fell). But I was recently sitting in my favorite sushi place having these thoughts.
Because I am in an admitting mood, I am going to reveal a few things here:
1.) This is a lazy, lazy dinner. The amount of work here is almost miniscule, and it makes me wonder why I have evenings where I cannot bring myself to cook (enter popcorn and pickles. Again, don't judge. I like salt.)
2.) What sets this apart from other lazy dinners I normally make is the the chile and pumpkin seed combo tossed in with the sweet potatoes. Yep. This launches this little puff pastry concoction into a new realm.
3.) Which I did not cut thin enough. Go ahead. Judge me on that one. I am okay with that. (Here's a photo where you can judge me fully. That is one mighty thick-cut potato.)
4.) Sweet potatoes are markedly different from yams. In the US, mostly what we eat are sweet potatoes. Although, confusingly, we call the darker-skinner variety yams, more often than not. However, they're still sweet potatoes.
5.) You know what would be even prettier? A range of different colored sweet potatoes. (Or yams. But probably sweet potatoes.)
6.) But this is pretty enough as is. In fact, pretty enough, when shot by a professional photographer, that Ottolenghi chose to make this the cover for his and Sami Tamimi's cookbook Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. Go look.
7.) Finally, let's face it, this is also a great way to use up an abandoned sheet of puff pastry dough that was hanging out in my freezer. And we have been trying to clean out the freezer. Total win all around.
Okay, as far as admitting things go, that was pretty easy. And so was this dinner. Easy enough for a simple dinner after a spectacular lunch. Now that's my kind of day.
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Sweet Potato Galettes
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's Ottolenghi: The CookbookYield
Makes 2 puff pastries, serves 4-6
Ingredients
3 sweet potatoes
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, preferably all-butter, thawed
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 egg, lightly beaten
6½ Tbsp sour cream
¼ cup goat cheese
2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds, roasted and salted
1 medium hot chile, finely chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt and pepper
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake the sweet potatoes in their skins for 35-40 minutes, until they soften up but are not fully cooked through. Leave until cool enough to handle. Then cut into slices about ⅛ inch thick (I cut them much thicker than that, and I left the peels on, despite Ottolenghi's advice to take the peels off).
2. While the sweet potatoes are int he oven, roll out the puff pastry to about ⅛ inch thick. Cut out four rectangles and prick them all over with a fork. Like a baking sheet with parchment paper, place the pastry rectangles on it, well spaced apart, and let them rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
3. Remove the pastry from the fridge and brush lightly with the beaten egg. Spread a think layer of sour cream on the pastries, leaving a ¼-inch border all around. Arrrange the potato slices on the pastry, potentially overlapping them, keeping the border clear. Season with salt and pepper, crumble the goat cheese on top, and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds and chile. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is cooked through. Check underneath; it should be golden brown.
4. While the galettes are cooking, stir together the olive oil, garlic, parsley and a pinch of salt. When the pastries come out of the oven, brush them with this garlic mixture. Serve warm or at room temperature.
3. Remove the pastry from the fridge and brush lightly with the beaten egg. Spread a think layer of sour cream on the pastries, leaving a ¼-inch border all around. Arrrange the potato slices on the pastry, potentially overlapping them, keeping the border clear. Season with salt and pepper, crumble the goat cheese on top, and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds and chile. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is cooked through. Check underneath; it should be golden brown.
4. While the galettes are cooking, stir together the olive oil, garlic, parsley and a pinch of salt. When the pastries come out of the oven, brush them with this garlic mixture. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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