Spinach & Feta Galette

As a child, I was not a fan of spinach, or anything that contained it, and no amount of watching Popeye cartoons could make me change my mind. Thank goodness for adulthood.

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I have since had a complete change of heart in my feelings about this wondrous green veggie. So much so that I even grow it in my garden. I can’t even remember why I didn’t like it in the first place. I guess we’ll simply have to chalk it up to “just because”.

I, like many Greeks (and non-Greeks, too), love the combination of flavor that comes from a traditional Greek spanakopita. This is a “pie” that is a perfect flavor marriage of a buttery and flaky fillo dough stuffed with tangy feta, spinach, fresh herbs, and eggs. I’ve just made it into an actual pie this time. Or at least pretty close to one.

Galettes are a kind of “cheater’s pie”, if you will. Though you are still making a pie crust, there’s no fussing with transferring it to a pie dish, or worrying about getting properly crimped edges. They are used for both sweet and savory purposes, and work best for fillings that aren’t overly wet. In fact making a galette is really good practice for making pies for those of you that haven’t done so before! Woohoo! Two birds with one stone!

Some quick notes before you begin:

You will need to make the pastry dough for this. Most store bought pie dough comes preformed and may be too brittle to be used for this style. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered (of course)! Pie dough is not scary nor difficult, especially if you have a basic food processor. See my recipe here, and pay attention to the note below.

About that pie dough, my original recipe is for an all butter crust. For recipes like this, I like to substitute half of the butter with lard. Yes, lard. Butter crusts will shrink a bit due to the evaporating moisture from the butter. Lard doesn’t have that same moisture and so there will be less shrinkage of the dough and your galette will hold its shape better. The combination of butter and lard will then give the best of both worlds: flavor and texture. By the way, making your own lard or other rendered fats is ridiculously easy and uses up scraps you were probably already throwing out. See how here!

Traditional spanakopita does not use flour as a thickener. Instead the spinach is sauteed and the liquid is squeezed out, otherwise the filling will be super soggy. In this case, I use flour to simplify the process and accomplish the same thing, which is to reduce the amount of loose liquid in the filling. If your filling still seems very watery after adding the flour and continuing to cook the filling, you may want to consider adding another teaspoon. Don’t get crazy, you don’t want a pasty filling, either.

This recipe makes two galettes. Each served my family of four (that are still under one roof) as an all-in-one meal, for a total of two meals. Add a side salad or other side dish and you can stretch each galette to serve more people, or for more meals. They can be frozen before baking, but don’t thaw them first when it’s time to cook them. Keep the same oven temperature and leave it in the oven for a longer period of time until it’s done.