Beet and Sweet Potato Galette

Let's say your world is looking a little bit bland and dreary lately, likely due to the empty trees and the grey skies.  Perhaps you are tired of the cold and your dinner plate is reflecting that, another cold, grey meal.

And let's say you have this beet in your pantry.  Maybe you can relate to how it feels, rough and whithered. But what's that at the end of the beet, a bright spot of magenta and red peeking out from the skin, revealing a bit of hope in this misunderstood and often overlooked vegetable?

Perhaps you have more than one of these odd vegetables.  If you are following a seasonal diet, this is a common theme this time of year, and the beet gets shoved to the back. Until you have a pile and it's time to act.

Maybe you add another rooty vegetable that is generally more familiar to the palate, the sweet potato.  Equally ugly-on-the-outside-cheery-on-the-inside as it's sister, the beet. They make a good pair. Everyone needs a friend.

Feeling a bit of warmth and color coming back, you throw in a few other flavors to mingle together...

Some fresh rosemary for brightness...

Olive oil and salt and freshly grated parmesan as your final flourish. This is the most important step.  This is the point where cold and grey becomes rich and lively.

You better grab your cast iron skillet.  This is about to get good.

So you pull it all together, thin slivers of vivid colors tossed in olive oil, layered with bits of rosemary, parmesan and plenty of salt, and nestled all together in your skillet.  A kaleidoscope of beauty ready to heat and eat.

If you're feeling the pep come back to your step, maybe you want to do a little grilling, rotisserie chickens, right in your back yard. Well, that's a recipe for another day, but let me just say this makes a fantastic bed for juicy lemon herb chicken legs. 

We like to add a few bright lights when we're feeling dreary.  

But really all you need is a knife and fork and you're ready to dig in.

Feeling better now? 

Hey Sis, try this...

Beet and Sweet Potato Galette

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes

2 large or 4 small red beets

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

Kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

6 Tbsp parmesan or Romano cheese, finely grated, divided

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Wash and peel the beets and potatoes.  Using a mandoline slicer or knife, cut into rounds about 1/8-inch thick. Throw slices into a bowl with olive oil. If you are a stickler about the color of your food, you can keep the beets and sweet potatoes separate so the beet does not bleed color.  I like the ombre look when they mingled together.  To each his own.

Begin to build the galette in the skillet by layering potato and beet slices in overlapping circles until the bottom of the pan is covered. When the first layer is done, sprinkle with a little chopped rosemary, salt and pepper, and 2 Tbsp grated cheese. Continue layering the potatoes and beets this way until all are used ending with grated cheese.

Bake uncovered about 40 to 55 minutes, until the top of the galette is browned, the edges are crisp, and the vegetables are cooked through (test by inserting the tip of a small knife straight down - you should feel no resistance).When thoroughly cooked, remove from the oven and let sit 5 minutes. Using a heat-proof spatula, loosen the galette from the pan. Slide it onto a cutting board and slice into wedges. Serve immediately.