Gourmet's Potato and Kale Galette

Now that Halloween and our trip to North Carolina is over, we can get back to the business of making Potato and Kale Galettes. Galette means "whore's pasta," though I may be confusing that with pasta puttanesca.

Gourmet's version:

Our version:

I know. And this was our BEST picture.

But look, we had a lot going against us. The first misstep occurred at the market, when Matt picked up collard greens instead of kale.

I don't think this really made a difference. We just boiled them and then sauteed them with butter and garlic.

The second thing we didn't have going for us was our lack of a mandoline. (NOTE: If this blog post were an Amelia Bedelia book, this is where Amelia would pull out a little mandolin guitar.)

Slicing four potatoes 1/16th of an inch thick by hand is no joke. (Check out how afraid I am of slicing my fingers.)

This recipe was not afraid of its butter content. At this point, the pattern sort of became: butter, potatoes, kale, butter, potatoes, kale, butter, butter, butter, repeat.

Next, things got a little meta.

When it came time to flip the potato and kale collard greens galette, things just got sad--the bottom had totally stuck to the pan.

We scraped it off and reassembled and were able to salvage it a little. I mean, it was definitely going to be an aesthetic fail, but we still wanted to eat it (all that butter!). In the end, it looked weird (especially on the one side) but tasted great.

It's good to be back home and bon appetempting.

RECIPE via Best of GOURMET

yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings

active time: 45 min

total time: 1 hr

A crisp potato cake would be tempting enough—even without the surprise of garlicky kale sandwiched between its layers.

Ingredients
1 lb kale, tough stems and center ribs discarded
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, 6 of the tablespoons melted and cooled
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 lb russet (baking) potatoes (4 medium)

Special equipment: a 12-inch heavy nonstick skillet; an adjustable-blade slicer

Preparation

Cook kale in a 4- to 6-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until just tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Drain well, squeezing handfuls of kale to extract excess moisture, then coarsely chop.

Heat 2 tablespoons (unmelted) butter in skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 1 minute. Add kale, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and sauté, stirring, until kale is tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and clean skillet.

Peel potatoes and thinly slice crosswise (1/16 inch thick) with slicer. Working quickly to prevent potatoes from discoloring, generously brush bottom of skillet with some of melted butter and cover with one third of potato slices, overlapping slightly. Dab potatoes with some of melted butter.

Spread half of kale over potatoes and sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

Cover with half of remaining potato slices and dab with butter, then top with remaining kale. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Top with remaining potatoes and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Brush a sheet of foil with melted butter, then brush galette with any remaining butter and place foil, buttered side down, on top. Place a 10-inch heavy skillet on top of foil to weight galette.

Cook galette over moderate heat until underside is golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove top skillet and foil. Wearing oven mitts, carefully slide galette onto a baking sheet and invert skillet over it. Holding them together, invert galette, browned side up, back into skillet. Cook, uncovered, over moderate heat until underside is golden brown and potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Slide onto a serving plate.

Cooks' note: Galette can be made 6 hours ahead and cooled, uncovered, then kept, on a baking sheet covered with foil, at room temperature. Remove foil, then reheat in a 425°F oven until heated through and crisp, about 20 minutes.