Carrot Parsnip Gallette

Thanksgiving. Man. Does it get any better? I get to cook for days, feed people I like, and then, THEN, have a day of lounging and leftovers and pajamas afterward. I am thankful for it, indeed.

This year, I had a sort of potluck. M. made the stuffing, cranberry sauce, and bacon ice cream. Yes. Bacon. B. made the salad, rolls, and brought a pumpkin pie. R. made an apple pie. J. made sweet potatoes. So my job was easy this year. We did the turkey (Alton Brown’s brine recipe, G.’s basting concoction), cheesy baked mashed potatoes (Giada’s recipe), green beans with a lemon vinaigrette, parsnip carrot gallette, and gravy. The gallette was an on-the-fly concoction to substitute the carrot pie I was going to make before I learned that B&E were bringing a pie. And actually, it came out great, thanks to the newest member of the family:

Early Christmas present from my mom

This puppy helped me make pie crust, slice the veggies, blend the sauce. All in all, it’s my new kitchen hero.

Here’s what I came up with. Let’s just say there were a lot of requests for seconds:

Carrot Parsnip Gallette

2 discs of pie dough (recipe below)
1/2 lb. carrots, sliced
1/2 lb. parsnips, sliced
1 red onion, sliced into long wisps
olive oil
1/2 stick + 3 T. butter
2 c. + 2 tsp. water
salt
pepper
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 c. white wine
1/2 c. orange juice
1/2 c. cream cheese
1/2 c. parmesan cheese, shredded
zest of 1/2 lemon
2 eggs + 1 egg white

Pie Dough (from the Cuisinart Food Processor recipe booklet)
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 sticks very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. ice water

Process flour, butter and salt until mixture is like course meal, about 8 seconds. Add ice water and pulse until dough begins to clump together. Do not let it form a ball. Divide dough into three equal parts and wrap each into plastic.

Press each section of dough into a disc. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Filling
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook slowly until caramelized, 20 to 30 minutes. They will release a wonderful sweet smell and turn a golden, shiny brown. Take off heat and set aside.

Bring 2 c. water, butter, and tsp. of salt to a boil. Add the carrots, parsnips, and thyme and simmer until soft over medium, about 10 minutes. Remove the veggies with a slotted spoon and add the bowl with the caramelized onions. Add the orange juice and white wine and reduce until it is a thin syrup, about 15 more minutes. Pour over the veggies and mix.

In the work bowl of the food processor, combine cream cheese, parmesan cheese, 2 eggs, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth and pour over veggies.

Assemblage
Roll out two discs on a lightly floured surface until about 1/8 inch thick. In a lightly greased, square baking pan, spread out both discs side by side so that they overlap, and so that there is ample overage on all sides. You could also do this on a cookie sheet. Pour in the filling and begin to fold over the extra dough on the sides so that you the filling is contained on all sides. Press the top of the dough gently so that it forms a wide lip all around the top of the gallette.

Brush an egg wash made of egg white and 2 T. water over the top part of the crust.

Bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Pour in filling

Fold over all sides

It came out buttery and extremely flavorful. The caramelized onions and the reduction sauce really clenched it. It was a fine addition to the Tday table and I’d make it again in a heartbeat.