Cauliflower & Cheddar Galettes with Chipotle Crème Fraîche

Fusion cooking can be seriously awesome or devastatingly awful. We've all been there at one point or another. Happily, author Ellise Pierce strikes a playful balance between the wild-wild west of her upbringing and the sophisticated chic of her adulthood hometown in Cowgirl Chef: Texas Cooking with a French Accent.  

I acquired this book during my recent time in the Lone Star State, which offers plenty of inventive recipes include Pistachio-Crusted Lamb Chops with Cowgirl Chimichurri, Stuffed Zucchini (Courgettes Farcies), and cornbread madeleines, with classics from both sides of the Atlantic tossed in for good measure.

As promised, these galettes were perfecto with the Caramelized Chipotle Chicken, given we're in the midst of winter's icy grip and hungry for food that's a little more "stick to your ribs." These little French pancakes warmed up beautifully the following day -- good news since we got well over a dozen galettes out of this recipe.  


CAULIFLOWER & CHEDDAR GALETTES
Makes about 12 galettes

Ingredients:

1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets
EVOO
sea salt (or Kosher salt) and pepper
1 c. cornmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt (or, again, Kosher)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 eggs, room temperature
1 5-ounce container of Greek yogurt
1 c. water (or stock)
4 green onions, thinly sliced, white and green parts of stalk
1 c. grated cheddar cheese (white cheddar will be more mild than it's sharper yellow cousin)
4 TBS. vegetable oil
Chipotle Crème Fraîche (recipe follows)


Directions: 

Preheat your broiler and line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment. Position the rack in the middle of the oven. 

Toss the cauliflower florets in a large bowl with a hearty drizzle of EVOO, salt and pepper. Lay evenly across the lined cookie sheet, and pop into the oven. The florets will begin to brown in about 10 minutes. When they do, remove from oven and turn each floret over so the other side gets its fair chance to get toasty, too. Roast for another 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool. 

Once cool, separate the florets further. (Don't over think this. You're looking to have pieces the size of a very large dice. You'll like the big bits of cauliflower in the galettes, but they need to be a manageable size for the cooking process). 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, baking powder, salt, cayenne and cumin. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt and water (or stock). Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and gently stir to combine. 

Gently fold in the cauliflower florets, grated cheddar, and green onions, reserving a TBS. or two of the green onions for garnish. 

Heat 2 TBS. of the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. When it's hot, spoon about 2 TBS. of batter into the pan/galette, being sure not to crowd the pan. Cook the galettes for 3 or so minutes, until the bottoms are just brown, then flip and repeat. Be sure they're not cooking too fast, as a thick batter increases the odds of them being under cooked in the middle. 

Serve these immediately with a dollop of chipotle crème fraîche, garnished with chopped green onions (and/or fresh avocado, should you happen to have one sitting on your counter). 


CHIPOTLE CRÈME FRAÎCHE
Makes 1 cup

Ingredients: 

8 ounces crème fraîche (NOTE: I don't love crème fraîche, so I substitute sour cream or Greek yogurt every time to happy effect).
1 - 2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, or more to taste


Directions: 

Toss the chipotles (plus some of their adobo sauce for added heat) into a food processor, or mince by hand.

Fold chiles and crème fraîche/sour cream/yogurt together in a small bowl. Add adobo sauce to taste. Viola!