You don’t have to be vegetarian to fall in love with this impressive savory galette recipe. It’s made with kale and beet greens cooked with garlic and sprinkled with feta, currants and pine nuts. It is baked in a free-form whole-wheat buttermilk pastry crust. You can use a combination of kale, chard or beet greens for this recipe.

savory galette

I originally shared this Savory Galette recipe on June 18th, 2015. I have updated some of the text today.

Why We Love This We Love This Savory Galette

If you have an abundance of greens to use, this is a wonderful way to use them! It is a perfect vegetarian main course to serve for a brunch or holiday meal.

I came up with the recipe because I myself had an awful lot of greens to use up. And while a simple salad with my favorite apple cider vinaigrette dressing recipe is always a good idea, I really needed a way to cook with them. Last week during our CSA pick-up we got a big bunch of Red Russian kale, rainbow chard and tender baby beet greens as well as a bag of mixed lettuce and salad greens too!

This is a lot, even for a green-loving cook like me. Luckily when cooked, greens are not nearly as voluminous as when they are raw, so I knew that the kale, beet greens and chard were destined for the sauté pan.

I decided to make a savory galette, which is basically like a free-form pie. Galettes are made with a flaky pastry crust that is wrapped around filling either sweet or savory. This one, loaded up with sauteed greens is decidedly savory (with a touch of sweetness from dried zante currants.)

the savory galette on a platter with a slice removed

Ingredients For This Savory Galette with Spinach and Kale

Savory galette crust ingredients

Crust Ingredients

  • White Whole-Wheat Flour – This 100% whole wheat flour is made from hard white wheat versus the hard red wheat that whole wheat is made from giving it a milder flavor and paler color, but containing all of the same nutritional value.
  • All-Purpose Flour – This versatile flour is made from a mixture of soft wheat and hard wheat, which contains more gluten and helps to provide elasticity to the pastry dough.
  • Cornmeal – Made from ground yellow corn, cornmeal adds subtle sweetness and a pleasant texture to the crust.
  • Baking Powder – Adding just a touch of baking powder to the crust helps to lighten the overall texture and create a flaky pie crust.
  • Sugar – Adding sugar will increase tenderness because it helps ensure the gluten doesn’t overdevelop.
  • Salt – The addition of salt will help to counteract bitterness and add flavor.
  • Unsalted Butter – Using cold butter is essential to making a tender crust by ensuring that the butter doesn’t combine too well with the flour and is able to create pockets of flakiness in the finished product.
  • Buttermilk – Adding buttermilk helps to bring all of the ingredients together without over mixing, as well as adding a slight tangy flavor and also helping to increase flaky crust.
Savory galette filling ingredients

Filling Ingredients

  • Extra-Virgin Olive Oil – A heart healthy oil that is perfect for sautéing.
  • Garlic – This allium when sautéed adds a nice nutty flavor to the filling.
  • Cooking Greens – Kale, chard or beet greens (or a combination) will work for this recipe and are packed with vitamins and nutrients. Remove the stems. Chop the leaves and wash and spin dry.
  • Egg & Buttermilk – The egg and buttermilk create a custard that works to hold the filling together in the crust.
  • Feta Cheese – This crumbly cheese adds a deliciously rich, tangy and slightly salty flavor which is a welcome addition to the filling.
  • Dried Zante Currants – These small dried Black Corinth Grapes are sweet and have a very grape-forward flavor.
  • Salt & Pepper – These powerhouse seasonings work together to add a depth of flavor to the over galette.
  • Nutmeg – A little bit of this spice adds a lovely warm and nutty flavor to both sweet and savory dishes.
  • Pine Nuts – The high oil content in pine nuts give them a buttery texture with a slightly sweet and nutty flavor.

How To Make Veggie Galette Crust

  • I made the crust with white whole-wheat flour with a tiny bit of cornmeal added for texture.
  • I barely cut in the butter, and used a technique called frisage. It is the best way to make the buttery crust flakier. Don’t run away, frisage is no Big Thang! Frisage means smearing the butter into the dough to create little sheets of butter though the dough. When it bakes, the butter melts, creates steam and makes the crust crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside. It’s like cheater croissant dough. Sort of.
  • I also added in a tiny bit of baking powder to lighten this dough up slightly.

How To Make Savory Galette Filling

  • You can use any combination of greens you want to make this savory galette filling. I like the balance of earthy beet greens with the slightly bitter kale greens. But if you prefer you can use all kale or even spinach. 
  • The greens are cooked with garlic to wilt them down and to mellow the flavor of the garlic. You want to make sure they are not too wet. So they’ll need to be stirred pretty much continually while in the saute pan.
  • I love greens with dried fruit, so I added currants to this filling. I think you’ll be surprised by how the flavors go well together. If you are unable to find currants, sub in golden raisins. 
  • I also added in some pine nuts for added flavor and richness. If you prefer another nut, add those in, but chop them first.
  • I didn’t want it to seem eggy or like a quiche, so I only added in one egg to kind of hold it together, and then a touch more buttermilk for moisture. It set up really nicely after it was baked and sliced easily.

Step By Step Instructions To Make This Delicious Savory Galette Recipe

making the dough for the savory galette

Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients and work in the butter.

Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Add cubes of butter and toss to coat with the flour. Rub butter together with the flour mixture to work it into the flour mixture slightly, leaving some large chunks remaining.

Step 2: Add the buttermilk and bring the dough together.

Add 4 to 5 tablespoons buttermilk and toss with a fork to combine. Work with hands to bring the flour mixture together as a dough.

chill the dough and cook the greens for the filling

Step 3: Frisage and chill the galette dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Work the small pieces of butter into the dough by smearing the dough away from you with the palm of your hands on the work surface two or three times. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 40 minutes.

Step 4: Cook the greens.

While dough chills, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant and just starting to brown, 20 to 30 seconds. Add greens and cook, stirring constantly until the greens are wilted and just barely cooked down, 1 to 2 minutes.

cool the greens in a bowl and preheat the oven

Step 5: Cool the Greens

Transfer the greens into a large heat-proof bowl to cool.

Step 6: Preheat Oven

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

finish the filling and roll out the dough

Step 7: Add eggs and buttermilk and remaining ingredients to the cooled greens.

Beat egg white and 3 T buttermilk in a small bowl and add to cooled greens. Add feta, currants, salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir to coat the greens completely.

Step 8: Roll out the dough.

Lay a wide sheet of parchment paper on work surface. Unwrap the dough and set in the middle of the parchment. Top with another sheet of parchment. Roll dough out to ¼-inch thick round about 11 to 12-inches wide with a rolling pin. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet. Peel away top layer parchment.

assemble the galette and bake

Step 7: Assemble the Kale Galette.

Spread the greens out in the center of the dough, leaving a 2 to 3-inch border. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Fold the edges of the dough around the filling, using a spatula to lift. Brush the egg yolk over the crust.

Step 8: Bake and serve.

Bake the galette until the crust is golden brown and set up, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

a slice of galette on a plate with a glass of hard cider

FAQs and Expert Tips

What are savory galettes?

A galette is a French pastry that is basically a free-form pie. A savory galette is a round pastry typically filled with vegetables, cheese and fresh herbs and baked on a baking sheet. Fruit is a popular filling for a sweet galette.

What is the difference between a tart, pie and a galette?

A tart is a shallow straight-sided pastry formed in a tart pan or ring mold. A pie pastry is formed in a deeper dish slope-sided pie pan and a galette is a free-form pastry baked directly on a flat baking sheet. There are sweet and savory versions of all three.

Can you freeze a savory galette?

Yes, wrap unbaked galettes well and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen. Baking times may need to be adjusted slightly.

side view of the galette before it is sliced

What To Serve With Savory Galette

Additional Recipes To Try

Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!

Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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savory galette

Savory Galette


  • Author: Katie Webster
  • Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x

Description

A savory vegetarian galette made with kale and beet greens cooked with garlic and sprinkled with feta, currants and pine nuts. It is baked in a free-form whole-wheat buttermilk pastry crust. You can use a combination of kale and beet greens for this recipe or add in chard or spinach if you prefer.


Ingredients

Units Scale

Crust

  • 3/4 cup white whole-wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons cornmeal, preferably stone ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
  • 4 to 5 Tablespoons cold buttermilk

Filling

  • 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 8 cups chopped washed cooking greens, such as kale, chard and beet greens
  • 1 egg, separated
  • 3 tablespoons buttermilk
  • 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 3 tablespoons dried zante currants
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper, preferably white pepper
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon pine nuts

Instructions

Make Crust:

  1. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Add cubes of butter and toss to coat with the flour. Rub butter together with the flour mixture to work it into the flour mixture slightly, leaving some large chunks remaining.
  2. Add 4 to 5 tblespoons buttermilk and toss with a fork to combine. Work with hands to bring the flour mixture together as a dough.
  3. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Work the butter chunks into the dough by smearing the dough away from you on the work surface two or three times. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 40 minutes.

Make Filling:

  1.  While dough chills, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant and just starting to brown, 20 to 30 seconds. Add greens and cook, stirring constantly until the greens are wilted and just barely cooked down, 1 to 2 minutes.
  2. Transfer the greens into a large heat-proof bowl to cool.

Assemble and Bake

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Beat egg white and 3 T buttermilk in a small dish and add to cooled greens. Add feta, currants, salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir to coat the greens completely.
  3. Assemble and Bake Galette: Lay a wide sheet of parchment on work surface. Unwrap the dough and set in the middle of the parchment. Top with another sheet of parchment. Roll dough out to ¼-inch thick round about 11 to 12-inches wide. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet. Peel away top layer parchment.
  4. Spread the greens out in the center of the dough, leaving a 2 to 3-inch border. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Fold the edges of the dough around the filling, using a spatula to lift. Brush the egg yolk over the crust.
  5. Bake the galette until the crust is golden and set up, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

To Freeze:

Wrap unbaked galettes well and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen. Baking times may need to be adjusted slightly.

  • Prep Time: 40 minutes
  • Category: Main Course
  • Method: baking
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/6 galette
  • Calories: 336
  • Sugar: 8 g
  • Sodium: 531 mg
  • Fat: 19 g
  • Saturated Fat: 9 g
  • Carbohydrates: 33 g
  • Fiber: 6 g
  • Protein: 12 g

Keywords: savory galette, kale galette, spinach galette, veggie galette