Autumn vegetable galette recipe by Tarunima Sinha

This is inspired by an Indian breakfast. Delicately spiced, ginger and panch phoron-spiced seasonal vegetables sit on a green chilli, carrot tops and cashew nut pesto, baked in a wholewheat pastry – a riff on a chapatti. Keep this pastry recipe safe, it is a good one for a savoury shortcrust.

Makes 6 galettes
For the carrot-top pesto
carrot leaves 1 bunch (can be substituted with 200g basil)
watercress or rocket leaves 200g
lemon 1, juiced and zested
garlic 4 cloves, peeled
cashew nuts 75g
olive oil 6 tbsp
green chillies 2-3 (optional)
sea salt 1 tbsp
freshly ground pepper 1 tbsp

For the pastry
wholewheat flour 150g
bread flour 250g
salt 1 tbsp
turmeric powder ¼ tsp (optional)
sugar 1 tbsp
nigella seeds 10g
poppy seeds 30g
butter 175g, very cold
egg 1
Greek yoghurt 2 tbsp, cold

For the vegetable filling
carrots 1 bunch (6-8)
butternut squash 1 small
cauliflower 1 medium
olive oil 4 tbsp
English mustard 4 tbsp
fresh ginger 25g, grated
panch phoron 3 tbsp (a spice blend of mustard seeds, fennel seeds, nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds), plus more to sprinkle
red chilli flakes 1 tbsp (optional)
cream cheese 100g
cherry tomatoes 200g
turmeric powder ½ tsp
egg 1, beaten
poppy seeds enough to sprinkle

To finish
olive oil to drizzle
Greek yoghurt 4-5 tbsp, thinned with a couple of spoonfuls of water
pesto a few dollops

For the pickle
red onions 2, thinly sliced
sea salt 1 tbsp
lemon juice 3 tbsp

First make the pesto. In a food processor, whizz all the ingredients to a coarse paste. It makes a little more than required but will keep in the fridge for pasta or sandwiches.

Next, make the pastry. In a large bowl, add the two types of flour, salt, turmeric, sugar, nigella and poppy seeds. Grate in the cold butter. Mix to a coarse breadcrumb texture. Then add the egg and cold yoghurt to bring the dough together. Knead gently a couple of times. Flatten the dough into a disc and wrap in greaseproof paper. Chill in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 170C fan/gas mark 5. Chop the carrots, squash and cauliflower into 2.5cm pieces. Transfer to a large oven tray, drizzle over some olive oil and season with salt, turmeric and black pepper. Put the tray in the oven for 15 minutes, just to soften the vegetables. Remove the tray from the oven and let it cool.

In a large bowl, add the mustard, a drizzle of olive oil, sea salt, more black pepper, the prepared and cooled carrot, squash and cauliflower mix, grated ginger, panch phoron and chilli flakes. Mix well and keep aside.

Take the pastry out of the fridge. Divide the chilled pastry into six portions – each one should be roughly 100g.

Roll out each portion between two sheets of baking paper into discs roughly 15cm round. The edges don’t need to be neat. If the pastry is cracking, the dough is too cold. Give it a few minutes at room temperature and then roll again.

Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Brush the paper in each one with a teaspoon of butter.

Place three rolled discs on each tray. Spoon a large dollop of cream cheese and a spoon of the pesto in the middle of each one. Spread the mixture, leaving an inch spare around the edges of each disc. Pile high with the vegetable mix. Tuck in 5-6 cherry tomato halves.

Roughly fold in the edges over the vegetables a little, making a rim. Rustic folds are good here. Brush the edges with a beaten egg. Sprinkle with poppy seeds and some panch phoron spice mix, also on the pastry edges.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges and base are lightly golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and let them rest for 10 minutes.

For the pickle, put the sliced red onions in a bowl, add the sea salt and lemon juice. Stir and leave it to infuse for an hour.

Finish the galettes with a drizzle of olive oil and yoghurt, some dollops of pesto, black pepper and sea salt. Serve warm, with a leafy green salad and the quick pickle.

Tarunima Sinha is a food writer and owner of baking delivery business My Little Cake Tin