Pumpkin galette with feta & za'atar
Autumnal galette with all the good flavours of the Eastern Mediterranean.
This has been my favourite dish to make during pumpkin season the last couple of years. It was originally inspired by a beetroot & feta galette in Falastin by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley, one of the best cookbooks of recent years. I originally made a summery interpretation, with tomatoes and feta, which I then turned into the autumnal version that I present to you today.
While it’s a fairly straight-forward recipe, the dough can be a little tricky. It’s not difficult, but you need to work precisely and relatively quickly, both when preparing the dough (which should only just come together, not be kneaded) and when rolling it out (as it heats up, the dough will be increasingly difficult to work with). Use as much flour as is needed to ensure the dough doesn’t stick to your kitchen surface, but no more. If the dough becomes too difficult to work with while you’re rolling it out, transfer to a baking parchment and complete the job there, or put it back in the fridge for a few minutes to cool down again.
Don’t worry too much about the shape. A galette should be rustic. If you get a few holes, simply “repair” with a small piece of dough from the sides. Pay more attention to the thickness, which should be roughly even throughout.
I’ve added US cup measures to the recipe, but I strongly recommend measuring the dough ingredients with a scale.
I’ve served this for both lunch and dinner, and it’s excellent either way. Light enough for lunch, but filling enough for dinner. I like a pungent green salad alongside – a simple dressing of pomegranate molasses and extra virgin olive oil is perfect.
If you like to plan ahead, you can make the dough up to 24 hours in advance. Just make sure to wrap it well so it doesn’t dry out.
