Mushrooms and leeks are in season for February and what better way to enjoy their fresh flavours than in a warm, savoury mushroom and leek galette? This dish is delicious and packed with nutrients that support your gut health.
Leeks are great for gut health, thanks to their prebiotic content. Prebiotics are a type of fibre that your body can not fully digest, but that is a good thing! Instead of being broken down in the stomach or small intestine, prebiotics make their way to the large intestine where the good bacteria in your gut can feed on them. This process, called fermentation, provides the bacteria with the fuel they need to thrive and multiply.
Why does this matter? Supporting the growth of healthy gut bacteria can have a wide range of benefits for your overall health, including:
- Supporting your immune system
- Strengthening the walls of your intestine
- Aiding in digestion
- Producing important vitamins like B12, K and thiamine
- Helping with weight management
- Boosting heart health
What about mushrooms?
Mushrooms are not just tasty, they are also packed with important nutrients. They provide B vitamins like niacin, riboflavin, and pantothenic acid, along with minerals such as selenium, copper, and potassium. Mushrooms also contain β-glucans, a type of prebiotic fibre that benefits gut health in a similar way to leeks. β-glucans aren’t digested by our bodies, so they help speed up digestion and increase stool frequency, which can be helpful for conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulosis and even colon cancer. Plus, they have been shown to lower cholesterol by encouraging the production of beneficial compounds in the gut that help break down cholesterol. β-glucans also bind to cholesterol in the intestine, preventing its absorption and helping remove it from the body through stool.
Enjoy this comforting, gut-loving galette as a nourishing way to celebrate the seasonal flavours of February!
Leek & Mushroom Galette
Yields: 8 slices or individual galettes
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Difficulty: 3/3 – Complex
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large leek, finely chopped (about 3 cups)
- Salt and black pepper
- ½ tsp dried red pepper flakes
- 1lb mushrooms (any kind, stemmed, cleaned and roughly chopped), about 7 cups
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves only
- 9-inch pie dough round (store-bought is fine)
- 1 large egg, whisked
- Flakey sea salt for sprinkling
Steps
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Heat 3 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the leeks, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the leeks soften, about 4 minutes.
- Push the leeks to the edge of the pan, then add the remaining tbsp of olive oil along with the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms release their moisture and begin to shrink about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the thyme and cook for another minute, gently folding the leeks into the mixture.
- Lay the pie dough onto the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle the nutritional yeast evenly across the surface. Press it into the dough with your fingers or a rolling pin.
- Spoon the mushroom-leek mixture into the center of the dough, spreading it into an even layer and leaving a 1-inch border. Fold the dough edges over the filling, overlapping as you form the crust.
- Brush the dough with the whisked egg and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is golden and crisp.
- Recipe adapted from: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/savory-mushroom-galette/
- Probiotics, prebiotics, and the microbiome. Gastrointestinal Society. (2024, October 18). https://badgut.org/information-centre/a-z-digestive-topics/prebiotics-probiotics/
- Uffelman CN, Schmok JN, Campbell RE, Hartman AS, Olson MR, Anderson NL, Reisdorph NA, Tang M, Krebs NF, Campbell WWConsuming Mushrooms When Adopting a Healthy Mediterranean-Style Dietary Pattern Does Not Influence Short-Term Changes of Most Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Factors in Healthy Middle-Aged and Older Adults.J Nutr.(2024-Feb)
- Cerletti, C., Esposito, S., & Iacoviello, L. (2021). Edible Mushrooms and Beta-Glucans: Impact on Human Health. Nutrients, 13(7), 2195. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13072195
