" Heart of Celery " Recipe
Ingredients:
For the pasta:
- 200 g of Arifa Ruggeri flour
- 50 g of extra virgin olive oil
- 70 g of cold water
- salt
- 1/2 litre of milk
- 50 g of flour
- 25 g of butter
- a pinch of salt
- nutmeg powder
- pepper
- 1 fennel sliced 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon grated cheese
- 1 bunch of parsley
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
Procedure:
To prepare the shortcrust pastry , place the sifted flour, salt and oil in a food processor (or mix by hand in a bowl). Process for a few seconds until the mixture becomes crumbly (or incorporate the oil quickly with your fingertips). Add the cold water and work quickly until the dough becomes compact. Form a ball on the work surface, flatten the dough and wrap in cling film, leaving to rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
For the béchamel sauce: in a small saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over low heat. Separately, in a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour, stirring with a whisk. Lower the heat and cook for a few minutes, stirring often. Add the hot milk a little at a time, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
Turn the oven on to 180°C.
Spread the pastry on a sheet of baking paper. Transfer the pastry to a baking tray, spread a light layer of breadcrumbs, béchamel, thinly sliced fennel, breadcrumbs, grated cheese, parsley, salt and pepper, finally drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Leave a 4 cm border all around and fold it over the filling, allowing the dough to form folds. Brush the edges of the gallette with oil or egg white.
Bake at 180°- 190°C for 30-40 minutes.
Note: if you like, you can blanch the fennel in water for a few minutes, taking care to remove the excess before proceeding to the filling step. Also, the béchamel sauce can be omitted.
