Rosary Goats Cheese Galette

The night before you want to make the galette, put the butter in the freezer. The next day, when you’re ready to start cooking, put the two flours into a large mixing bowl, crumble in the sea salt and add the chopped thyme leaves. Remove the butter from the freezer, take off any packaging and wrap one end of the butter in foil; next, grate the butter coarsely into the flour mixture, holding it at the foiled end to avoid melting it with the heat from your hands. Remove the foil from the last piece of butter so you can grate it in, and then mix everything roughly together. Add 5 tablespoons of fridge-cold water and mix swiftly with a metal spoon to combine, then use your hands to bring it together into a dough (add a little more water if it seems too dry). Knead the pastry dough briefly until just smooth, then wrap it in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least an hour.

To prepare the veg for the filling, trim the roots from the bottoms of the spring onions and peel off any browning or damaged outer leaves, but otherwise leave them whole. Cut the ends off the courgettes, then use a peeler to slice them lengthwise into long strips – not too, thin, about 5mm. Next, if you have a griddle pan, place it over a high heat (if not, a large, dry frying pan is just as good), and let it get really hot. Have a large plate ready. When the pan is hot, add the spring onions and cook, turning them with tongs until you have clear griddle or char-marks on all sides (you will probably need to do this in batches). Put the onions on the plate to cool while you repeat the process with the courgette slices, leaving them on the plate to cool when they’re done. While the veg is cooling, put the mascarpone and goats’ cheese into a mixing bowl, then grate in the lemon zest and the Parmesan-style cheese and beat together until well combined. Season to taste with just a little salt and some freshly ground black pepper, then set aside.
Take the pastry out of the fridge and sit it on a large sheet of baking paper. Cut another large sheet of baking paper and put it on top of the pastry, then roll the pastry out between the two sheets of paper to make a rectangle approximately 35cm x 25cm. Peel off the top layer of baking paper, then spread the cheese mixture across the pastry, leaving a border of about 2-3cm all around the edges. Arrange the griddled spring onions on top of the cheese, then beat the egg and use some of it to brush around the pastry border. Use the baking paper underneath the galette to lift it gently on to a baking sheet, then put it into the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.

While the galette chills, preheat the oven to 200°C (Gas Mark 6) and put a clean baking sheet on the central shelf to get hot. Scatter the almonds on a small baking tray and put them into the hot oven for about 5 minutes, until toasted and fragrant, then remove from the oven, tip on to a clean plate and leave to cool. When the galette has had its time in the fridge, brush around the edges again with the beaten egg, then slide the galette (keeping it on its paper) on to the hot baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, then take the galette out of the oven and arrange the griddled courgette slices on top of the filling. Return it to the oven for 5 minutes more, or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove the galette from the oven, then roughly slice the toasted almonds and scatter them over the top, together with a drizzle or two of olive oil. Carefully remove the baking paper from the bottom, then serve.