Savoury Galette

I make plenty of sweet dessert galettes so why not add a savoury one to that list. A breeze to whip up and delicious this is suitable anytime... for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You may want to adjust the vegetables according preference or season. 

Savoury Galette
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1 medium eggplant, sliced
1 medium zucchini, sliced
200g sliced mushrooms
1 medium red onion, sliced into rings
fresh or frozen spinach, chopped
5 to 6 small tomatoes, halved 
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed
Summer Savoury or Herbs de Provence 
dash of balsamic vinegar

ready made puff pastry, thawed, according to package
passata sauce

Preheat oven to 375ºF.  

In a large skillet, over medium heat, add the oil, onions and crushed garlic. Sauté for a few moments then add the remaining vegetables, except the halved tomatoes, and seasoning. Continue to sauté until just tender. Add a dash of balsamic vinegar and stir to combine. Remove from heat and allow to cool, slightly.

Roll out the ready made puff pastry according to package directions. If no parchment paper is provided, place a piece of baking parchment paper, on a clean flat surface, before rolling the puff pastry out, and roll the puff pastry on top. Once rolled to a relaxed and desired size, place with the parchment paper on a baking sheet; spoon passata sauce in the middle spreading out towards the edges, making sure to leave about an 1 inch gap between the sauce and edge. Place the vegetable mixture over top of the sauce and fold the edges inwards; towards the centre of the free formed pie. Randomly place the halved tomatoes on top. 
If you forget to place the rolled out dough on the baking sheet before assembling, not to worry, carefully and quite possibly with help, gently glide the now formed pie with the parchment paper onto the baking sheet.  

In a small bowl, beat an egg with with a teaspoon of water and a pinch of salt. Brush the egg wash over the folded pastry edges, to seal any cracks and to create a lovely golden colour once baked. Sprinkle seasoning over the egg wash, if you wish. Place in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the pastry has puffed up and is nicely golden brown. Remove from oven allowing to rest for 1 minute. Sprinkle with freshly grated cheese or crumble cheese over top.  

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Out with the extreme cold and in with some warmer winter temperatures, so to speak. - JD 

Slow Cooker Breaded Chicken in Tomato Sauce

This recipe is a delicious one with minimal effort. You can use what ever herbs and seasonings you have on hand. No measuring required just use your flavour and cooking instincts to guide you... surprisingly sometimes these thrown together recipes come together really well. Serve with whatever side, you wish. I was feeling particularly autumnal and roasted some carrots, leeks, potatoes and sweet potatoes. 

Slow Cooker Breaded Chicken in Tomato Sauce

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5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

breadcrumbs, ready made or homemade 

herbs and seasonings, fresh or dried, of your choice

salt and pepper

tomato passata sauce

1 plastic zip bag

In a large plastic zip bag place a generous amount of breadcrumbs, herbs, seasonings and salt and pepper. Add the chicken breast. Seal the bag tightly and shake about or rub the chicken breast to make sure they are well coated. 

Pour some of the tomato passata sauce into the bottom of a large slow cooker insert; making sure that the bottom is well covered. Arrange the seasoned breaded chicken breasts on top of the passata sauce. Drizzle a bit more over the top of each chicken breasts. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 - 4 1/2 hours. 

Notes: the breadcrumbs I used were ready made ones. No measurements were included because I literally just pulled the ingredients together and eyeballed what I needed. I would estimate that the breadcrumbs, herbs and seasonings together measured about... 1 cup to 1 1/4 cup, for 5 chicken breasts, the breadcrumbs taking up most of the measurement but then again it's preference on how seasoned, how breaded and herby you would like the chicken to be. There was a bit of breadcrumb mixture leftover, after the chicken was coated, you could throw it away or do what I did just sprinkle the remaining loosely over top of the well coated chicken breasts before drizzling more passata sauce over top.  

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Seems as though the cooler temperatures have got the better of me; I have a cold. So trying to muddle through everything in hopes I will be feeling better soon. -JD