Grain Free Tomato Basil Galettes with Almond Ricotta

I've had this tomato ricotta galette on my mind ever since I made this blueberry lavender galette back in July. I'm absolutely bonkers over this galette crust! It’s dairy free... grain free... and it shatters / crisps up just like a buttery traditional pie crust... how could I NOT be crazy about it?! People are shocked when I tell them it’s not only gluten free, but grain free too. And by “people” I mean my husband, his friends, my band mates and everyone I grilled at the last potluck I went to (“so how did you liiiiiiike it?!?!?). 

Logan and I have been slowly transitioning to consuming less grains, mostly because he’s been having rather unpleasant reactions to consuming them. The only grains he’s been ok with lately are quinoa, teff and rice. We’re addressing that whole situation with functional medicine, Chinese medicine and just about whatever we can throw at it. But in the meantime we’re pretty much team-go-diet-go around here, so if he wants to do mostly grain free I’m all about it. And besides, I see any dietary restriction as a shot at getting really good at mastering new special diets recipes. Can you tell I’m an optimist? New dietary restrictions can’t hold me back! 

A few notes on why I absolutely love this recipe:

• Grain-free dairy free coconut oil crust = paleo friendly and gut friendly, with all of the added benefits of coconut oil to boot. 
• It's like fancy pizza, if pizza had a rich buttery crust.
• It’s also easier than DIY pizza (huge plus!). 
• The crust firms up enough when baked that you can eat it as a hand pie, no utensils necessary. 
• It stores really well in the fridge and it’s still delicious the next day.
• Since the crust is grain free it’s very forgiving, which means you could fold and pinch it a zillion times and it will never toughen up the way a wheat crust would.
• It’s intentionally rustic (read: messy edges) but your friends will still be hella impressed with all those folds. 
• ALMOND. RICOTTA. Enough said.
• It’s a v impressive veggie date-night-in recipe. Perfect for luring in your prey… um… I mean… lover? Lover, right that’s what I meant. 
• It makes a really lovely appetizer for a fancy dinner party too — I usually slice them up into 8 pieces each for the perfect bite size snacks. 
• You can easily make it your own by folding different pre-cooked veggies into the crust. Roasted butternut squash or beets would be soooo good. 

I hope you all enjoy this recipe, honeybees! xo -- Renee 

Grain Free Dairy Free Coconut Oil Galette Crust (Savory)

Author: Renee Byrd | Will Frolic for Food - Active prep time: 10 minutes - Inactive prep time: 30 mins - Cook time: 14 mins - Makes 4 galettes or 2 9” tart crusts  - PRINT THIS RECIPE

Tips: 1. For the filling, you could use any pre-cooked veggies, chutney, cheese or sauce recipe that you like. 2. You can also use ghee or butter instead of coconut oil. 3. To powder the chia I use a spice grinder or the small cup on my nutribullet blender to get it nice and fine.

• 1 ½  cups natural fine blanched almond flour
• ¼  cup coconut flour
• ½ cup tapioca flour
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds, powdered
• 1 tsp coconut sugar
• 1 egg + 1 egg white for wash
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons coconut oil, room temp but solid
• 4 tablespoons cold unsweetened plant milk or cold water
• 10 oz creamy dairy free cheese or almond ricotta
• 1 cup roasted vegetables e.g. roasted tomatoes

1. To a food processor fitted with an S blade, add the dry ingredients: almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, sea salt, powdered chia seed and coconut sugar. Pulse to combine. Pulse in 1 whole egg, lemon juice and coconut oil. Pulse in 4 tablespoons plant milk or water -- the mixture will look like wet sand but will pinch together into a malleable dough when you squeeze it between your fingers.
2. Scrape the dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper and form it into a ball. Cover tightly with parchment paper or cellophane. Let rest 30 minutes in the fridge.
3. To shape the galettes: split the disk into 4 equal pieces. While you’re working on one quarter, keep the rest covered or wrapped up (I set mine in a bowl and cover with a cloth). Add a large sheet of parchment paper to your work surface. Form your first dough quarter into a ball and flatten gently into a disc. Set another sheet of parchment paper on top of the disc of dough. Roll the dough out between the two sheets of parchment in a circle until it is a quarter inch thick circle about 8 inches across. Smooth together broken edges with your fingers. To get the edges looking really smooth, I fold and press the edges in towards the center of the dough circle using my fingers.
4. Transfer the flat dough circle to a baking sheet (you can line it with parchment paper for easy clean up). Roll out the rest of the galette crust bases by repeating step 3. I had to use two standard baking sheets to fit all four of galettes -- you need to shape the filled galette crusts directly on the baking sheets, so two pans gives you enough space to work.
5. To fill: dollop approximately three tablespoons of dairy free cheese in the center of each dough circle and use a spoon to spread it out. Add an equal portion of roasted veggies.
6. To fold: Using a bench scraper or spatula, wiggle the scraper/spatula underneath of the dough edges and use it to fold the dough towards the center of the galette, creating folds as you go. The dough is pretty delicate when it’s raw so the bench scraper/spatula is really essential. If the dough cracks (and it will) press the cracks back together with your fingers. Don’t sweat it if you’re folds aren’t perfect. Just focus on making sure there aren’t any gaping holes at the seam between the bottom of the crust and where the folded edge starts (so filling doesn’t leak out everywhere).  This takes a bit of finesse, and the slower you work the less cracking you get and the more pretty your folds will be. It also helps if your crust remains cool (warm crust = all sorts of breakage).
7. Repeat with the rest of the galette crusts.
8. To finish: Using a pastry brush, brush the egg white wash over each galette, getting it into all of the crevices.
9. To bake: Preheat the oven to 375. Bake both sheets on the center rack for 14 minutes, until the galettes are golden and firm to the touch. Let cool completely before serving. When they’re cool you can lift and transfer the galettes off of the baking sheets easily -- they firm up a lot. Sprinkle fresh herbs over top before serving. Enjoy!

Almond Ricotta

Active prep time: 5 mins - Inactive prep time: 30 mins - Cook time: 0 mins - Makes 1 ¼ cup almond ricotta - PRINT THIS RECIPE

Tips: For a very smooth ricotta, soak almonds overnight.

• 1 cup almonds

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 5-6 tbsp water

• 1 tbsp mellow white miso paste

• 1/2 tsp white pepper

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1/4 cup packed basil

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

1. Set the almonds in a medium bowl. Cover with hot water and soak for minimum 30 minutes up to overnight. Once soaked, use your hands to slip the almond skins off of the blanched almonds. Discard skins.

2. Add everything to a blender: blanched almonds, olive oil, water, miso, white pepper, apple cider vinegar, basil and sea salt. Blend until semi-smooth, like a rough paste. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.

Simple Roasted Tomatoes

Active prep time: 5 mins - Inactive prep time: 0 mins - Cook time: 15-20 mins - Makes 1 cup roasted tomatoes - PRINT THIS RECIPE

Tips: Adding fresh woody herbs like rosemary or thyme to the roast pan imparts extra flavor to roasted tomatoes.

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp sea salt

• Optional: 1 clove garlic minced, 2 sprigs rosemary or thyme

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, toss your sliced tomatoes with olive oil, salt and (optional) minced garlic. Spread the tomatoes out sliced-side-up on your baking sheet. (Optional) Add a 2 springs rosemary or thyme to the pan.

3. Roast the tomatoes on the center rack for 15-20 minutes, until reduced and start to brown/blacken a bit. Remove, discard herb springs and let the tomatoes cool a few minutes before eating.