SPINACH GALETTE WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

The last gusts of winter have me craving coziness: a good read by the fire still appeals to me, and I want a mug of tea to warm my mitts. But the brilliant green of spring is calling to me as well. Our garden is crazy with buds and sweet new leaves, and the longer evenings inspire me to get out and walk with P after dinner, even if it drizzles.

To honor the end of winter and the burgeoning spring, I thought I'd share some comfort food that is full of freshness. How about flaky buttery deliciousness that's packed with TWELVE CUPS of spinach.... doesn't that sound like a fun way to eat your greens?

Note: be sure to make your dough at least an hour (or up to two days) before you want to cook your galette.

CRUST INGREDIENTS
(printable recipe)

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (GF folks: I always use Pamela's Bread and Flour Mix)
• pinch of sea salt
• 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
• 6-7 tablespoons ice water

Place flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir. Cut butter into pieces and add to the mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut butter into the flour mix. Keep mixing until the butter is reduced to pea-sized bits. Drizzle 5 tablespoons of ice water into the bowl and continue to mix ingredients with pastry cutter. Even though the mixture will still be quite crumbly at this point, squeeze some dough between your fingers and see if it holds together. You will probably need to add at least another tablespoon or two of ice water to get your dough to hold together. (Don't overwork or over-wet your dough: a nice, slightly crumbly dough with smears of butter throughout (that just holds together) will give you a great flaky crust later.)

Get out a large piece of plastic wrap and lay it on the counter next to your mixing bowl. Using your hands, gently gather the dough into a ball and place it in the center of the plastic. Wrap the ball in plastic and use the heel of your hand to flatten the dough a into a thick round. Chill the wrapped dough in the fridge for at least a hour, or up to two days.


FILLING INGREDIENTS
(printable recipe)

• 12 packed cups spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup sliced leeks
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt
• 2 cups fresh wild mushrooms (Chanterelles or Hedgehogs are delicious here)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley

Preheat oven to 375.

Thoroughly wash and trim spinach. If you are using baby spinach, you can keep the leaves whole. If using larger spinach leaves, chop them coarsely. Set aside.

Wash leeks, making sure to get that sneaky dirt out from between the layers. Trim off the roots and slice the whites and pale greens into thin rounds.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan, or wok, over medium heat. Add leeks and a pinch of salt to the warm oil, cover pan and cook leeks until tender. When leeks have softened, add spinach leaves and another pinch of salt, toss them with the oil and leeks. (If you cannot fit all the spinach in your pan right away, let the first bit wilt and make room to add more leaves.) Cover and continue to cook over medium heat until spinach is tender - 5 minutes should do.

Remove spinach and leeks from pan and set aside. When the greens have cooled, squeeze out any excess water that might still be clinging to the spinach.

In the meantime, prep your mushrooms. Using a brush, sweep all the dirt off the mushrooms. (Try to avoid washing them in water, if possible.) Trim off any funky bits and coarsely chop.

Heat a medium cast iron or saute pan over high heat. When the pan is hot, but not smoking, add the mushrooms. They will immediately steam and sizzle. After the mushrooms have released their water and it begins to evaporate, add one tablespoon of olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Continue to cook over high heat until mushrooms are tender, but not well-done. Cooking time will vary, depending on which mushrooms you use; trust yourself, and taste as you go to check for doneness. (Keep in mind that all of these ingredients will continue to cook in the hot oven later.) Set aside cooked mushrooms.

Take your chilled dough out of the fridge. Cover a cutting board with a big piece of parchment paper. Place your dough on the parchment. Sprinkle a bit of extra flour over the top of the dough and dust your rolling pin with flour. Roll out the dough into a nice large circle or oval.  Slide the rolled-out galette dough (keeping it on the parchment) onto a baking sheet.

Leaving a couple of inches of dough as a boundary around the edge of your oval/circle, sprinkle 3/4 cup of Parmesan over the the middle portion. Then add the spinach, leeks, and mushrooms. Spread them out, respecting the boundary around the edges. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top. Fold up up the edges. Put the galette in your 375 degree oven.

After 35-40 minutes of baking, your galette should be nice a golden brown. You can eat it warm or let it cool to room temperature... either way, it's really good.

Sprinkle galette with chopped parsley. Enjoy!