MOVE OVER TURKEY!

I cooked for 17 this Thanksgiving with a lot of help from my family and friends. I was responsible for the turkey, dressing, ham, rutabaga and the gravy.  Everyone else brought delicious sides and great desserts: key lime, apple and lemon meringue pies and a delectable cheesecake baked by a friend of a guest who is a pastry chef in a downtown restaurant.  We had plenty of food and plenty of leftovers too even after I distributed care packages to people.  After four days of eating turkey and ham sandwiches along with turkey soup, I was ready to start rummaging through the fridge to see what I could turn into a delicious meal. This reminds me to post a recipe for turkey stock/soup next Thanksgiving!

We had quite a bit of the Iberico chorizo I bought for a charcuterie platter and some gouda and cheddar cheeses along with some asparagus, red pepper, tomatoes, black olives, onion and some fresh thyme and rosemary. I had been to a salon earlier in the day and saw a recipe for a galette (which is really just a fancy word for flatbread) in Food and Wine magazine.  I liked the simple recipe for the pastry so I copied it. The topping wasn't to my liking since I'm not a big butternut squash fan, so I used what I had on hand to create my own.  Here's what I've got:

ON THE CUTTING BOARD:



Iberico chorizo, tomatoes, black olives, red pepper, onion, garlic, asparagus, gouda cheese, cheddar cheese, crushed red pepper, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, butter, flour, sea salt, pepper, ice water

STEP ONE:



Measure 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour into a bowl. Add 1/2 tsp. sea salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper and mix together.

STEP TWO:



Grate 3/4 stick of butter into the flour.  Grating the butter is an easy way to get it integrated into the flour without cutting cubes or using a food processor.  Just make sure the butter is very cold or frozen before you grate.  Gently toss into the flour.

STEP THREE:



Add about 1/3 cup of ICE WATER (very important for a good pastry) to the flour until it lumps together and you can manipulate it into a ball. Wrap in plastic and set in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

STEP FOUR:



Cut up onion, garlic and red pepper and fry in a T. of olive oil until almost soft.  Add some fresh thyme, a little rosemary and crushed red pepper to taste.

STEP FIVE:



Add the asparagus and cook for about 5 minutes.

STEP SIX:





After an hour, take out the dough and a piece of parchment paper.  Roll out the dough to about a 14-inch round.

STEP SEVEN:



Sprinkle gouda cheese on the pastry.

STEP EIGHT:









Place the cooked vegetable mixture on top of the cheese and then add the chorizo, fresh tomatoes, black olives and cheddar cheese (or any type of cheese you have on hand). Fold up the edges of the pastry to form a crust. Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 35 minutes. Keep a watch on it. You don't want it to get too brown. When it's golden, take it out.

STEP NINE:





Remove the flatbread from the oven. Can garnish with a spring or two of rosemary or thyme. I forgot to do that, but I think it would be a nice touch. I'm a salad nut, and this dish definitely begs for one. I made one with red leaf lettuce, avocado, cucumbers and clementines. I dressed it with a sherry vinaigrette.   ENJOY!


ALLA VOSTRA SALUTE!