Who says rhubarb must be relegated to dessert? The vibrant tartness of this spring vegetable (yep, it’s technically a vegetable!) makes rhubarb the perfect foil to savory flavors. In this recipe rhubarb is cooked down with leafy Swiss chard and enveloped in an earthy buckwheat crust for a showstopping vegetarian main dish. Both buckwheat and rhubarb are members of the Polygonaceae family, which also includes knotweed and sorrel.
Swiss Chard & Rhubarb Galette with a Buckwheat Crust
Don’t be intimidated by the number of steps in this recipe—this is a project that can easily be broken into manageable parts. The filling can be made up to 3 days ahead. The dough can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept, tightly wrapped, in the fridge. Or make the dough up to 3 months ahead and freeze—just allow the dough to defrost overnight in the fridge before proceeding with the recipe. But if the thought of making pie dough is simply too much to bear, substitute a pound of defrosted store-bought puff pastry. You might miss the robust flavor of buckwheat if you go with this option but you’ll still have pie for dinner, so I absolutely consider that a win.
Equipment
- Large Dutch oven or skillet with high sides
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1¾ cups (253 grams) all-purpose flour, plus a little extra for rolling
- ¾ cup (102 grams) buckwheat flour
- 1 teaspoon (2 grams) kosher salt
- 8 ounces (226 grams, or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and kept very cold
- 1/3–½ cup ice water
For the filling:
- 1 tablespoon (14 grams) olive oil
- 1 large leek (about 13 ounces or 369 grams), white and light green parts sliced into ½-inch pieces and washed thoroughly
- 2 bunches Swiss chard (anywhere fsrom 12-16 ounces or 340-454 grams), stems cut into ½-inch pieces and leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces, divided
- 8 ounces (250 grams) rhubarb, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon (20 grams) maple syrup
- ½ cup (113 grams) ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 egg, vigorously beaten with
- 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash
- 3 tablespoons (26 grams) sesame seeds
- Fresh parsley and fresh mint, to garnish
Instructions
Make the crust:
- In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, and kosher salt. Toss the cold butter cubes in the flour mixture to coat.
- Working quickly so the butter doesn’t get too warm, flatten each butter cube between your fingers, working the butter into the flour mixture as you go. Continue to toss the butter through the flour until all cubes are flattened. The mixture will look pretty chunky at this stage.
- Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and add 1/3 cup ice water to the well, taking care not to let any ice cubes slip into the flour. Using your hands, gently incorporate the water into the flour, making sure you’re turning over the flour at the bottom of the bowl. If the mixture remains too crumbly to press together into a ball, add more ice water, one tablespoon at a time, until you can comfortably lift a ball of dough from the bowl without leaving behind much flour. The mixture should hold together easily, but it won’t look uniform and smooth at this stage.
- Tightly wrap the dough ball in plastic and place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. This will allow the water to fully hydrate the gluten in the dough.
- After the dough has rested for 30 minutes, lightly dust a clean counter with all-purpose flour. Place the dough ball on the counter and lightly dust the top with more flour. Gently roll out the dough to about ½-inch thickness, lightly dusting with more flour if it starts to get sticky. You’ll notice streaks of butter moving through the dough as you roll—this is a good thing!
- Gently fold the dough in half, and then fold that half in half again. Recover with plastic and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Repeat the rolling-and-folding step 2 more times, resting the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes between rolling. After these rolling-and-folding steps the dough should be pliable, soft, and a uniformly speckled brown color from the buckwheat flour. You should no longer see any butter streaks in the dough. Keep finished dough tightly wrapped in plastic and refrigerated until ready to assemble the galette.
Make the filling:
- In a large Dutch oven or skillet with high sides, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until the surface begins to shimmer. Add the washed leeks and the chard stems. Sauté until the leek softens and begins to brown a little, 5–7 minutes.
- Add the rhubarb to the skillet and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, until the rhubarb breaks down completely into a mush and the chard stems are very tender. If the mixture begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, add a splash or two of water to loosen things up.
- When the rhubarb has fallen apart completely, stir in the salt, maple syrup, and the chard leaves. It will seem like a lot at first, but keep tossing the mixture and the chard will begin to slump into the pan. Cook until the chard is completely wilted into the rhubarb mixture.
- Scrape filling onto a clean sheet tray and spread out to cover as much surface area as possible. (This will help it cool faster). Place in the fridge until filling is cold to the touch.
- Meanwhile, stir together ricotta, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt. Store in the fridge until ready to assemble the galette.
Assemble and bake galette:
- Line a sheet tray with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a rough 15-inch circle. Carefully transfer the rolled-out dough to the sheet tray. (The edges of the dough will hang over the sheet tray at this point.)
- Scrape the cooled rhubarb-chard filling onto the center of the dough, and gently spread it out towards the edges, leaving a 2-inch perimeter of the dough clean.
- Fold the edges of the dough up over the filling in loose pleats, leaving the filling exposed in the center of the galette.
- Using a pastry brush, apply the egg wash to the dough, making sure you’re covering the whole surface with an even layer. Lift up the pleats of the dough to gently apply some egg wash between them– this will help them stay folded nicely in the oven!
- Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the egg-washed crust. Dollop the lemon-ricotta mixture over the surface of the filling.
- Place the sheet tray with the finished galette in the freezer while the oven preheats.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. When oven is preheated, place the finished galette on the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 45–55 minutes, rotating to the top rack about 30 minutes into cooking time.
- When finished, the crust should be a deep brown color and the ricotta will begin to brown on top. The galette should slide easily back and forth on the parchment paper when gently shaken.
- Allow galette to cool on the sheet tray for at least 20 minutes before serving, or cool completely and serve at room temperature. Scatter with fresh herbs just before slicing.
