Here’s another one that Mrs Rabbit could make after she sends Peter foraging in the hedgerows for nuts and stealing root vegetables from their neighbors’ gardens. This is a rustic-looking galette, with roasted parsnips, apples and shallots, sharp cheddar cheese and some arugula thrown in for greenness. The parsnips are sweet, the apples are tart, the cheese is sharp, and they all go well together. The crust is made with hazelnuts, and lends a nice crunchy nuttiness to the soft, sweet insides. Galettes are the easiest crusted-thing to make, because you just fold them over and they look nice. There’s not fussing with crimping or roundness or fitting-into-anything-ness.

Here’s Sonny Boy Williamson with Apple Tree Swing.

for the crust…
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. white pepper
ground black pepper
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and ground (but not too fine, you still want some crust!)
1/2 cup (one stick) butter. Frozen and grated
ice water

Combine the flour, peppers, salt and hazelnuts in a big bowl. Grate in the butter, and mix it with your hands till you have a crumb-like texture. Add ice water until you can form it into a ball. Cover in foil or plastic and refrigerate for a little while.

For the filling
3 parsnips
2 largish apples (I used granny smiths, but I think they were TOO tart. I might use a slightly sweeter apple next time)
1 shallot
sage, thyme, rosemary
1 T olive oil
1 t. balsamic
brown sugar (optional)
dash nutmeg
salt/pepper
1 cup arugula, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar.

1. Cut the parsnips and apples into 1/3 inch dice. Finely chop the shallot. Combine all this with herbs, olive oil and balsamic, until everything is well coated.

2. Roast in a preheated 425 degree oven until everything is starting to get soft on the inside and brown and caramelized on the outside.

3. Taste the veg/apple mixture. If it seems too tart, add a spoonful of brown sugar. Season with salt, black pepper, and a dash of nutmeg.

4. Stir half the cheese into the parsnip/apple mixture.

5. Roll out your dough into a circle about 16 inches across. Maybe 1/4 inch thick. You can put this on a baking sheet or in a pie pan. Whatever you’ve got.

6. Put a layer of parsnip/apple mixture, then a layer of chopped arugula, and finally the rest of the cheese.

7. Fold the edges of the dough over to make a rough circle, leaving a space in the middle for the cheese to peep out.

8. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 1/2 hour, till the dough starts to turn golden-brown, and the cheese is melted and bubbly.