Easy Holiday Appetizer Recipe: Savory Galettes

Makes 2 galettes

Ingredients

Pie Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
5 to 8 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
waxed paper or parchment paper, for rolling
rolling pin
salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Apple Filling
1 Granny Smith apple
1/4 cup blue cheese
1/4 medium-sized red onion

Beet Filling
3 small red beets
3 small golden beets
1/2 cup walnuts
2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Directions

For the crust:
Mix together the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Mix together 5 tablespoons water and 1/2 cup oil. Pour the liquid into the well and mix with a fork for about 30 seconds. If it appears dry, add cold water, a tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together. Use immediately, or refrigerate until ready to use.

For the beet filling:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wash and trim beets, reserving the beet greens for another use. Place beets on a piece of foil. Add salt, pepper and a drizzle of oil, the wrap up the foil to create a pouch. Roast beets for about 40 minutes, or they can be easily pierced by a knife. Leave in foil package until cool enough to handle, then peel off skins with your hands. Slice into 1/4-inch slices. Remove rosemary from stalks and roughly chop. Measure 1/2 cup walnut halves.

For the apple filling:
Cut a Granny Smith apple in half, then cut thin slices lengthwise until you reach the core. Thinly slice the red onion. Crumble the blue cheese, set aside.

To assemble the galettes:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Divide the dough in half; refrigerate other half until ready to use. Cut two pieces of waxed or parchment paper about 12 inches square. Flatten the dough into a round disc and place between the two sheets of paper. Working from the center out, begin rolling dough. Rotate the dough every few presses to create a rough circle shape. The finished piece of dough should be about 1/4-inch thick and about 12 inches round. 

Remove the top sheet of waxed paper. Roll the dough, from one end to the other, and transport it to a flat cookie sheet. Unroll dough. About 2 inches from the edge of the dough, begin adding toppings in a circle pattern, with circles getting smaller and smaller until you reach the center.

For the beet filling, alternate slices of golden and red beets, then sprinkle walnuts and rosemary on top. For the apple filling, layer apple slices, then sprinkle on red onion slices and blue cheese.

Once the filling is in, season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil. Now it's time to finish the crust. Fold a small piece of the extra crust over the filling, then, moving clockwise around the pie, fold each additional piece on top of the last to create a layered effect. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until fillings are soft and crust golden brown. Let cool for 15-20 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.