Savory Pear & Onion Galette with Lemon Verbena (Gluten Free and Dairy Free!)

Throughout the fall/winter I’m partnering with Local Roots NYC to create locally inspired eats. Many of the ingredients used in this recipe are sourced from local farms included in their community supported agriculture (CSA) program. Check out their Fall CSA that provides a weekly pick-up through December 6th! 

1 pie dough recipe – I used cassava flour and palm shortening with a dash of salt. (Trisha Hughes has a great recipe.)
⅓ cup sweet onion – thinly sliced
½ tsp coconut oil
3 bosc pears – thinly sliced into ⅛”
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tbsp flour (I use cassava)
1 tbsp fresh lemon verbena
½ tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp honey
½ tbsp balsamic vinegar

 

Prepare your pie dough and roll it out onto a piece of parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a medium-sized skillet, lightly sauté onions with ½ teaspoon salt and coconut oil over medium heat for three minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Toss the sliced pears in ½ teaspoon salt, lemon juice, flour and lemon verbena.

Assemble the galette by first placing the onions on the rolled out pie dough. Leave a one inch edge around the perimeter to allow room for folding. Arrange the pears on top of the onions. Be careful to not layer more then three stacks of pears, as they will likely slide out of the crust while baking. Then fold over the edges to just cover a bit of the onions and pears.

Keeping the galette on the parchment paper, transfer it carefully onto a baking sheet.
Brush olive oil onto the dough and sprinkle with a dash of salt. Bake for 35 minutes.

While baking, mix together the honey and balsamic vinegar. Remove from oven and drizzle this over the galette.

Place back in the oven and continue baking 10 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving and then top with more balsamic vinegar honey drizzle.

Enjoy!

Savory Pear & Onion Galette with Lemon Verbena

Savory Pear & Onion Galette with Lemon Verbena (Gluten Free & Dairy Free!)
Serves 4
Gluten free and dairy free savory galette with caramelized onions, bosc pears and fresh lemon verbena.
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
48 min
Total Time
58 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
48 min
Total Time
58 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 pie dough recipe - I used cassava flour and palm shortening with a dash of salt.
  2. ⅓ cup sweet onion - thinly sliced
  3. ½ tsp coconut oil
  4. 3 bosc pears - thinly sliced into ⅛”
  5. 1 tsp salt
  6. 1 tbsp lemon juice
  7. ½ tbsp flour (I use cassava)
  8. 1 tbsp fresh lemon verbena
  9. ½ tsp extra virgin olive oil
  10. 1 tsp honey
  11. ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
Instructions
  1. Prepare your pie dough and roll it out onto a piece of parchment paper.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  3. In a medium-sized skillet, lightly sauté onions with ½ teaspoon salt and coconut oil over medium heat for three minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
  4. Toss the sliced pears in ½ teaspoon salt, lemon juice, flour and lemon verbena.
  5. Assemble the galette by first placing the onions on the rolled out pie dough. Leave a one inch edge around the perimeter to allow room for folding. Arrange the pears on top of the onions. Be careful to not layer more then three stacks of pears, as they will likely slide out of the crust while baking. Then fold over the edges to just cover a bit of the onions and pears.
  6. Keeping the galette on the parchment paper, transfer it carefully onto a baking sheet.
  7. Brush olive oil onto the dough and sprinkle with a dash of salt. Bake for 35 minutes.
  8. While baking, mix together the honey and balsamic vinegar. Remove from oven and drizzle this over the galette.
  9. Place back in the oven and continue baking 10 minutes until crust is golden brown.
  10. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving and then top with more balsamic vinegar honey drizzle.
  11. Enjoy!
Sparkle Kitchen https://sparklekitchen.com/
Savory Pear & Onion Galette with Lemon Verbena

Jerusalem Artichokes and Braised Kale Rice Pilaf

It should have been my celebration meal.

Smoked bison loin, watercress salad, corn succotash and sunchoke soup.

I was in DC for the Marine Corps Marathon. But I wasn’t running the race. Three months earlier I sprained my ankle, making it impossible to train for 26.2 miles.

The trip to DC became memorable for other things, particularly a trip to the Native American Museum. Spectacular exhibits, even more spectacular food. The Mitsitam Cafe serves all foods indigenous to North America. It was there that I had my first taste of sunchokes, also known as jerusalem artichokes.

Jerusalem artichokes are not artichokes at all or even in the same plant family. They are the roots of sunflowers and get their name from a faulty Italian translation, “girasole artichoke.” Girasole translates to sunflower and I have no idea how that turned into jerusalem. And the artichoke is an even bigger mystery. I think sunchoke is the more appropriate name.

Whatever you call them, they are mighty tasty, like a cross between an artichoke and a starchy potato. One cup is rich in potassium too, containing 650 mg.

For the March edition of the Local Eats Project, I went back to our historical roots, deep into the soil with beautiful jerusalem artichokes paired with red kale and brown rice.


Here are the farmer market ingredients I took home:

2 lbs jerusalem artichokes        $10.00    ($5.00 per lb)
1 bunch red kale                   $4.00   ($4.00 per bunch)
3  shallots     $1.85    ($4.00 per lb)

TOTAL $15.85 (to serve 6 people)

 

I’d love to see your Local Eats Project recipes! Post the recipe, photos and cost of your meal on your website or any social media site and share the love of local food. #localeatsproject

Enjoy!

Jerusalem Artichokes and Braised Kale Rice PilafJerusalem Artichokes and Braised Kale Rice PilafJerusalem Artichokes and Braised Kale Rice PilafJerusalem Artichokes and Braised Kale Rice PilafJerusalem Artichokes and Braised Kale Rice Pilaf

Jerusalem Artichokes and Braised Kale Rice Pilaf
Serves 6
Nutty, comforting flavors of jerusalem artichokes, kale and creamy rice.
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Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
35 min
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
35 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 lbs jerusalem artichokes/sunchokes - chopped
  2. 2 cups kale - stems removed and torn into pieces
  3. ½ cup shallots - sliced
  4. 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
  5. ½ tsp salt
  6. ½ tsp garam masala
  7. ¼ tsp black pepper
  8. 1 tbsp olive oil
  9. PILAF
  10. 1 ½ cups brown rice
  11. 3 cardamom seeds
  12. 1 cinnamon stick
  13. 1 bay leaves
  14. ½ tsp salt
Instructions
  1. Begin by preparing the rice. Soak in a mason jar with 1 ½ cups water for 30 minutes.
  2. While the rice is soaking, place the jerusalem artichokes, kale, shallots, broth and ¼ tsp salt in a large pot. Bring to a low boil.
  3. Reduce heat to low and stir in the garam masala, pepper and the rest of the salt. Partially cover pot and simmer for 15 minutes.
  4. Make a spice bag with the cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf. I do this with a piece of cheese cloth tied up with cooking twine.
  5. In a large pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. All the salt, spice bag and rice. Reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Rice is done when you can fluff it with a fork.
  6. Remove from heat and combine the rice with the vegetables.
  7. Drizzle olive oil over everything and toss together.
Sparkle Kitchen https://sparklekitchen.com/
Jerusalem Artichokes and Braised Kale Rice Pilaf

Spring Peas and Asparagus Salad

This week I’m reading Vicki Robin’s Blessing the Hands That Feed Us: Lessons from a 10-Mile Diet. Vicki challenged herself to one month of hyper-local eating. I pondered whether I’d be able to sustain this for two days much less one month. Seeing that spring has finally sprung and the bounty of produce is on it’s way, a ten mile diet may actually be feasible in Brooklyn.

With the abundance of rooftop farms and community gardens, it’s becoming easier to live off the city land. The only thing missing is a good protein source. A few years ago a debate over goat keeping arose in the city and it still has yet to be approved.  Thankfully Vicki did not have these urban barriers. She was living on Widbey Island in Puget Sound, Washington with access to green pasture and room for grazing animals.

As I dig deeper in this local food experiment I’m wanting to shift my behaviors and be more mindful of my food sources. I become disconnected to seasonal eating in the winter, choosing foods solely on recipe ideas that popped into my head. This is completely unaligned with my sustainability values. I recognize it’s unrealistic to adhere to a strict local food diet, but I can make better choices. So that’s the inspiration for this Spring Pea and Asparagus Salad recipe.

Right now is the height of asparagus and green pea harvesting. I printed out a cheat sheet to keep in my kitchen as a reminder to eat seasonally. By adopting a more locally sourced diet I’m able to honor my environment, protect resources and support small, local farmers producing top-quality food.

5 Reasons to Buy Local and Organic

Check out this interactive Seasonal Food Guide created by Sustainable Table. You can sort growing and harvest seasons by state and there are even recipe ideas for each food.

Spring Pea and Asparagus Salad

Spring Pea and Asparagus Salad

Spring Pea and Asparagus Salad
Serves 4
A seasonal salad of green peas, asparagus, onion and pancetta.
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
15 min
Total Time
25 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
15 min
Total Time
25 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 cups green peas
  2. 30 stalks asparagus or 2 bunches
  3. 1 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
  4. 1 medium onion - sliced
  5. ½ tsp salt
  6. 1 cup pancetta - chopped
Instructions
  1. Fill a large pot with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer. Pour in the raw peas and steam for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, strain through a colander and set aside.
  2. Break the tough ends off the asparagus and compost them. Then using the same large pot, fill again with 1 inch water, bring to a simmer and steam the asparagus for 3 minutes. Use tongs to remove the asparagus to a plate. Set aside.
  3. Sprinkle the sliced onion with salt and sauté in olive oil over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Make sure the onions cook until translucent, not browned.
  4. In a large bowl, toss together the peas, onion and pancetta. Top the asparagus with this mixture. You can drizzle more olive oil if you like too.
Sparkle Kitchen https://sparklekitchen.com/
Spring Pea and Asparagus Salad