ROASTY TOASTY SQUASH GALETTE

Now that we’ve learned to roast and caramelize our vegetables, we find we’re eating more of them! This savory butternut galette, originally from Smitten Kitchen’s Cookbook but beautifully recreated above by Seven Spoons Tara, is as tender as the night. Earthy fontina melts over deep orange and brown, velvety chunks of squash and silken tendrils of onion, casually wrapped in a flaky pastry makes a beautiful lunch, dinner, or appetizer. We like to pair it with a frisee and pear salad with toasted hazelnuts.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND CARAMELIZED ONION GALETTE

Excerpted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook (Knopf Publishing Group, 2012).

For the pastry

• 2½ cups (320 g) all-purpose flour, including 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour if you like, plus more for work surface
• ½ teaspoon (2 g) table salt
• 16 tablespoons (227 g) or 2 sticks, unsalted butter
• ½ cup (64 g) sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt, strained
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) white wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup (79 mL) ice water

 

For the filling

• 2 small or 1 large butternut squash, about 2½ pounds (1134 g)
• 3 tablespoons (45 mL) oil
• 1½ teaspoons (5 g) tsp table salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon (14 g) butter
• 2 large sweet onions, such as Spanish or Vidalia, halved, thinly sliced in half-moons
• ¼ teaspoon (1 g) sugar
• ¼ teaspoon (1 g) cayenne pepper, or to taste (optional)
• 2 cups (180 g) grated Italian Fontina cheese
• 1 teaspoon (4 g) chopped fresh thyme, or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp (4 g) water, for glaze (optional, but makes for a croissant-looking finish)

To make pastry:

In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the whole sticks of butter and, using a pastry blender, break up the bits of butter until the texture is like cornmeal, with the biggest pieces the size of pebbles. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, vinegar, and water, and pour this over the butter-flour mixture. Stir with a spoon or a rubber spatula until a dough forms, kneading it once or twice on the counter if needed to bring it together. Pat the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic and chill it in the refrigerator for an hour or up to two days.

To prepare squash:

Peel the squash, then halve and scoop out seeds. Cut into ½-inch to ¾-inch chunks. Pour 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of the olive oil into one or two smaller baking sheets, spreading it to an even slick. Lay the squash chunks on the baking sheet in one layer, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon (2 g) of the salt, and freshly ground black pepper, and roast in a 400ºF oven for 30 minutes, or until squash is tender, turning the pieces occasionally so that they brown evenly. Set aside to cool slightly. Leave the oven on.

While the squash is roasting, melt the butter and remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy frying pan, and cook the onions over medium-low heat with the sugar and remaining teaspoon of salt, stirring occasionally, until soft and tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the cayenne pepper, if using.

Mix the squash, caramelized onions, cheese, and herbs together in a bowl.

To assemble the galette:

On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 16- to 17-inch round. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread the squash-and-cheese mixture over the dough, leaving a 2 to 2½-inch border. Fold the border over the squash and cheese, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open. Brush the outside of the crust with the egg-yolk wash, if using.

Bake until golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the galette from the oven, let stand for five minutes, then slide onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Makes 1 hearty 12-inch galette that serves 8.