red pepper and baked egg galettes.

The more I cook, the more I understand my style.  I love seasonal food that is full of flavor.  Sure there is something to be said for a simple baked potato with butter but I think that baked potato is made exceptionally better when you add in a sprinkle of Aleppo pepper or a dusting of smoked paprika.  Those bold flavors keep things exciting.   

Yotam Ottolenghi shares this sentiment.  It's why I own three of his cookbooks - he understands me and my need to use 10 different spices in every dish I make.  He wouldn't think I'm crazy for sprinkling zatar on just about everything instead he would encourage it.  

I've been flipping through his cookbooks a lot lately.  They've become my default starting place when it comes to figuring out what do with 4 pounds of cauliflower and leeks I couldn't leave behind.  Last weekend I bought as many red peppers as I could figuring it would probably be the last weekend for them.  I went home and roasted them and then wondered what exactly I should do with them beyond my standard roasted tomatoes + mozzarella tartines.  At that moment, I stumbled across this recipe.

This is about as simple as it gets.  It makes for a killer weekend breakfast though I would happily eat this for dinner with a peppery salad.  It's a satisfying kind of dish made all the better with the addition of (many) herbs and spices.  

Red Pepper and Baked Egg Galettes

Recipe adapted from Jerusalem 

The original recipe calls for roasting the onions and peppers together.  I took the slightly lazier approach of using my pre-roasted peppers and omitting the onions (we were short on time).  Truth be told, I think if I was to add onions in, they would be caramelized onions (because caramelized onions are the only way I will eat onions).

If you were making this as a to-go meal, I would swap the egg for some good feta.   

4 large red peppers

1 teaspoon cumin or zatar

1 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon sumac

Salt and pepper to taste

Handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

4 tablespoons sour cream or labnah

4 large eggs or 8 tablespoons crumbled feta

Set the oven to 400 degrees.   Place the peppers on a baking sheet and roast until blackened and collapsed, about 45 minutes.  Remove the peppers from the oven and place them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. When cool, peel the skin off the peppers and slice then flesh into 1/2 inch wide slices.  Season the peppers with the cumin or zatar, coriander, sumac, salt, and pepper, and half the parsley and cilantro.  Set aside. (Can be done 3 days ahead.  Store the peppers in the fridge in a plastic container.)

Turn the oven up to 425. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until it reaches a 12x12 inch square. Cut into four 6 inch squares. Transfer to two parchment or silpat lined baking sheets and place them in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and spread 1 tablespoon sour cream or labnah on each of the pastry squares. Top each square with 1/4 of the pepper mixture spreading it out evenly, leaving the borders free, and leaving a shallow depression in the center for the egg, which will go in later.

Bake for 12 minutes or until the pastry begins to puff and brown. 

Remove from the oven and carefully crack in egg into the center of each galette.  Return the galette to the oven and continue to bake until the egg white is set, about 6 - 8 more minutes.  (Note - If using feta instead of egg, bake for a full 15 minutes and them sprinkle with cheese.  Continue to bake for another 3 - 5 minutes).  

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining herbs and additional salt and pepper.   Eat.