Wild greens galette

For us, this is winter food, when all the garden is sleeping and the wild greens make up a larger part of our diet. But it can also be a summer food, and it’s perfect for picnics. Use whatever wild greens you have growing around you. Assuming you’re using wholegrain flour, you can rest easy with this pie crust. Unlike crusts made with white flour and butter, which go wrong if overworked, this crust is pretty stable – bombproof, even!

Serves 4–6 

Ingredients

SOURDOUGH PIE CRUST
300g (2 cups) spelt flour
150g (1/2 cup) sourdough starter
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 
Splash of water

FILLING
4 garlic cloves, crushed
100g (1 cup) wild greens, blanched and chopped
100g potato, cubed and parboiled
200g feta cheese (other hard cheeses work well too), chopped
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Grated parmesan cheese, to sprinkle (optional) 

To make the pie crust, combine the flour, sourdough starter, salt, olive oil and vinegar in a large bowl. Mix well with your hands until you have a firm dough. If it’s too wet, add a little more flour. If it’s too dry, add another splash of water. Tip the dough out onto a floured board and form it into a fat disc. Wrap it in a large beeswax wrap  or waxed paper and leave it in a cool place for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Once the dough is rested, turn it out onto a floured board again and give the centre a few whacks with the side of a rolling pin to loosen up the dough. Roll the dough into a 30cm circle, rotating the board as you go to make this easier. Carefully transfer the dough to a well-greased baking tray and preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).

Combine all of the filling ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed. Carefully spoon the filling into the middle of the pastry and spread it out to the edge, leaving a 5cm border. Fold in the side of the pastry over the top of the filling, bit by bit. Top with the grated parmesan, if using.

Bake for 30–40 minutes until the crust is brown and the filling is bubbling. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with a fresh salad and good friends.

TIPS

We use spelt flour as it’s available locally, but use whatever flour you like – you’ll just need to watch the water as it’s added to make sure you get the right consistency for the dough.

If you don’t have a sourdough starter, just replace it with the same volume of flour. Your mixture will need a little more water. 

Kirsten Bradley and Nick Ritar are the authors of Milkwood: Real Skills for Down to Earth Living and through Milkwood they teach everything from permaculture design to market gardening, natural building and mushroom cultivation, to help create resilient and abundant households and communities, wherever they can.

For tips on foraging for wild greens head to Penny’s blog: A few Favourite Weeds.