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SPINACH & ASPARAGUS GALETTE

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I did another thing with a sheet of pre-made pastry. Sue me.

It’s just helpful, okay! There is a time and a place for homemade pastry, but it’s never the right time or ever the right place in my home. I was about to type I’m sorry but you know what? I’m not. I’m really not. Yes I’ve made my own pastry before, yes it was good, no it wasn’t as easy as I wanted it to be, and yes it’s a faff, no matter how good it tastes. 

So why go to the trouble when I always have something premade in the fridge?

Toast being my go-to breakfast (unsalted butter and then lots of sea salt on top…) but I turned to this as a breakfast when I was hungry and did not have any bread in the house. It was that simple.

It actually feels very impressive, almost decadent, to serve this for breakfast or brunch, when in reality, it’s an exercise is using up any items you have in your fridge, because the basic principles remain the same regardless of what you’re using.

For example:

  • The base – I use a mix of soft cheese and crème fraiche, because that’s what I had, but you could add a little goats cheese or ricotta and maybe even a little sour cream or Greek yogurt to create a creamy base. A little spoon of mustard would have been lovely too.
  • The asparagus – it could easily have been tenderstem broccoli or roasted red peppers or some courgette thinly sliced.
  • The spinach – don’t we all have half a bag of spinach screaming for attention in the fridge? But it could also have been a little kale or chard.

And it extends beyond the above, of course.

If you want to make it interestingly spicy you could add some gochujang to the base? If you want it tomatoey, you could add tomato paste to the base and add some thinly sliced tomatoes? You could also had a plethora of herbs? I’m thinking, dill, or parsley, or basil? Try crumbled feta, some sundried tomatoes and olives? How about some sauteed mushrooms, some thinly sliced shallots, and lots of fresh thyme and Parmesan? Chuck some horseradish and lemon zest and dill in the pace, and serve with some smoke salmon and capers? Ooh, make it a caprese? Basil, mozzarella, and tomatoes, thinly cut and added to the base? Caramelised onions and some thinly sliced and fried chorizo?

Honestly, I could keep going.

If you want to halve this recipe, you can do so, and then remember that I have some other fantastic recipes on this website for the remaining pastry (which follow a similar format to this) for example the Leek, Lentil & Kale Skillet Pie or the beautifully sweet Apple Frangipane Galette.

Serves 3 – 4

1 sheet shortcrust pastry

1 lemon

100g crème fraiche

100g cream cheese

A sprinkle of fresh chilli flakes (optional)

1 tsp olive oil

1 garlic clove

Two handfuls of spinach

A grating of fresh nutmeg

6 – 8 asparagus spears – trimmed

1 egg – beaten

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and line a tray with baking parchment.
  2. Unwrap your premade pastry and using your hands, form it into a ball. Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry into a rough circle shape (or some kind of rough oval), and then carefully transfer the pastry to a baking tray and slip in the fridge while you get on with the rest.
  3. For the cream base, halve the lemon and squeeze the juice of half the lemon into a small bowl. Add the crème fraiche and cream cheese with a little chilli flakes (if using), salt, and pepper, and stir to combine.
  4. In a frying pan on a medium heat, warm the olive oil and then grate the garlic with a fine grater and cook until it’s warm and fizzy. Add the spinach, grate over a little fresh nutmeg, and cook for a few minutes until the spinach has wilted slightly. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
  5. Remove the pastry from the fridge and then spread the cream filling from the centre of the pastry out to the edges, but leaving a rough border of 4 – 5 cm.
  6. Arrange the spinach in pockets on top of the cream and then nestle the asparagus amongst the wilted leaves.
  7. Take the halved lemon and grate the zest over the galette filling, adding a little more salt and pepper. 
  8. Gently fold the pastry edges inwards, using your fingers to pinch the pastry corners into place, leaving the filling exposed.
  9. Brush the base with the beaten egg, and then salt and pepper the pastry.
  10. Bake in the oven for 30 – 35 minutes until the pasty is golden and crisp, the asparagus is soft, and the cream base is every-so-slightly puffing.
  11. Let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing (like a pizza) and serving.

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