Past Issues
Roasted Pork and Apples with Cream Gravy

Chefs and consumers are reviving the market for healthy, free-range pork with sufficient marbling. The best place to find good pork is at your local farmers’ market.



Great Galettes

Edible Expert

By Piper Davis
Photo by John Valls

If the world were divided into two taste teams — sweet and savory — I’d play for the savory side. I’ll take fried trout over blueberry pancakes for breakfast any day.

Of course, there’s a certain irony in that: My family has been in the baking business for 35 years and my livelihood depends on bread and pastry, something most people associate with double-crust pies and Danishes, cream puffs and chocolate croissants. Sweets. The other team. But even though flaky pastry — mostly the sweet kind — is my livelihood, I’ve always insisted that Grand Central Bakery’s cafés offer several savory pastry options. A savory galette is my favorite.

Think of a galette as pie’s rustic kissing cousin, a simple free-form tart that showcases the season’s bounty in a flaky crust. I like to begin the same way we do at the bakery, with a base of caramelized onions, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper and enriched with an egg and some cream; it’s the perfect platform for seasonal toppings throughout the year. Between a CSA share, trips to the farmers’ market, and my garden (mostly tomatoes and basil), my kitchen is bursting with ingredients perfect for filling a savory galette.

Summertime produce in Oregon is a proverbial embarrassment of riches, inspiring galettes filled with everything from late-season asparagus to roasted corn, chiles and cotija cheese. Bakery favorites include zucchini with feta, and roasted eggplant-tomato.

At home, I usually end up making my take on the classic pizza Margherita, which combines thinly sliced ripe tomatoes, basil, and Parmesan cheese. As summer turns to fall, new fillings step in: wild mushrooms with sherry and thyme; roasted squash and bacon; or thinly sliced potatoes and chèvre with herbs. Garlic mashed potatoes on an onion base might get my vote for the most irresistible, especially in the winter.








Leave a Reply

 



Food Service of America

home | about us | contact us | advertising | farmers' markets | rss feed

Member of Edible Communities

Edible Portland is published by