Nov 21, 2011

Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Galette

To top off the Healthy Thanksgiving Challenge, I’m excited to bring you a butternut squash galette from the wonderful Stacy of Little Blue Hen. When I finally met Stacy in person at the International Food Bloggers Conference in Santa Monica last weekend, she told me her idea for this tart and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. I love the interplay between the earthy mushrooms and the sweet onions and squash. And I would have never thought of using rye flour in a tart crust – great idea.

Stacy pointed out that she broke one of the rules laid out in my 10 Tips for a Heart-Healthy Thanksgiving by using Earth Balance, but that’s quite alright. Rules are made to be broken!  My usual oil crust can’t be easily folded over for a tart like this, so Stacy’s crust makes sense for the job. Enjoy.

The sole vegetarian in my family, Thanksgiving dinner meant mashed potatoes and a dinner roll. The potatoes and rolls were good, but they wouldn’t fill a cornucopia, much less convince me that this was a celebratory meal.

When Cathy contacted me about writing a post for her Healthy Thanksgiving Challenge, however, the timing was perfect. My husband and I bought a house this summer and it’s our first year hosting Thanksgiving. We’re having 8 people over, including some friends, our 4-year-old niece, and my sister-in-law who is allergic to dairy.

Drunk with power at the prospect of complete menu control, I envisioned a centerpiece-worthy vegetarian dish (it ended up vegan to remain dairy-free). Caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, and roasted butternut squash tossed with sage are nestled in a flaky rye crust for a festive and flavorful whole grain galette. The sweet squash and onions, hearty mushrooms, and dusty sage are balanced with just enough salt and a flavorful pastry that will satisfy even a meat-eater. Add some green beans for contrast, and you won’t even miss the turkey.

Bonus feature: everything can (or even should) be made up to 3 days in advance. It’s easily assembled and baked the day of.

Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Galette

Use your favorite crust recipe if you have one, but I liked the nuttiness of the rye flour from this recipe adapted from Kim Boyce’s elegant Good to the Grain. The dough comes together much like pie crust; I used my food processor which is described in the recipe. To un-veganize it, just use butter. It would also be good with a little Fontina or feta cheese. (Vegan, Vegetarian, Dairy-Free)

Rustic Rye Dough

Ingredients:

1 cup rye flour
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces (1 stick | ½ cup) vegan margarine such as Earth Balance, cold
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Directions:

1.) Sift together dry ingredients. Add to food processor bowl.

2.) Cut butter into ½ inch pieces and add to dry ingredients. Pulse to combine, about 15 seconds. Butter should be slightly broken up but need not be uniform.

3.) Add vinegar. Add 6 tablespoons of ice water and pulse to combine. Pinch a piece of dough between your fingers; if it’s crumbly, add more ice water, one tablespoon at a time.

4.) When the dough stays together when pinched, scrape it onto a piece of plastic wrap, sprinkle a few drops of ice water on top, and wrap it tightly. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight.

5.) After the dough has chilled, turn it out onto a floured surface. Shape it into a square and roll it into a rectangle about 8×11 inches. It’s ok that the dough is ragged, it will come together.

6.) Fold the dough in thirds like a letter. Rotate the dough so that the seam is farthest away from you. Roll the dough out into a 8×11-inch rectangle again and fold it a second time. Rotate, roll, and fold a third time, then wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour, or up to 3 days before baking.

Filling:

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash, approximately 1 pound
1 medium yellow onion, sliced into half moons
12 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (I used cremini and oyster)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt, divided
1 teaspoon rubbed sage, or 1 tablespoon fresh minced sage leaves
Optional: ¼ cup dry white wine

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 375F. Peel the butternut squash, cut it in half length-wise, and scoop out the seeds. Dice the squash and place in a shallow baking dish. Drizzle with a teaspoon or so of olive oil and stir to coat. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until tender.

2.) While the squash bakes, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat and add onion slices. Add ¼ teaspoon salt. Stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Add about ¼ cup of water to deglaze the pan.

3.) Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a skillet and add the sliced mushrooms. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes until mushrooms are amber. Add ¼ cup of wine, if using, and stir until reduced.

4.) Combine squash, onions, and mushrooms. Sprinkle with sage and ¾ teaspoon of salt, mix well.

5.) At this point you can refrigerate the fillings, or you can assemble and bake the galette.

Assemble and bake:

1.) Preheat oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2.) Unwrap chilled dough on a floured work surface. Roll into a circle about 14 inches across, turning frequently. Use a bench scraper to transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet.

3.) Pour filling into the center of the dough and spread out about 9 inches across. Fold extra dough over the edge, pleating roughly. It doesn’t have to be elegant – it’s supposed to be rustic and homey.

4.) Bake galette at 400F for 30-40 minutes until crust is golden brown. Slice and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Serves 6-8 as part of a Thanksgiving meal

See more recipes: Entrees, Holiday recipes, Vegan

Comments

  • This certainly does “take the cake”! I haven’t seen a savory galette before, and the fact that I can make it ahead of time makes it even more appealing. I’m definitely taking it to Thanksgiving!

  • Love it! I bookmarked Smitten Kitchen’s Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette eons ago, but I love how this is vegan and includes mushrooms. :)

  • Looks gorgeous! I wonder if it can be frozen.

  • whatwouldcathyeat

    I would be wary of freezing this. But then again, I’m not much of a freezer….

  • Thanks, ladies! Hope you enjoy it.

    Janet, I could only imagine mushrooms would make it better, and I have to say I was right. 😉

    Tracy, I would freeze the filling and the block of dough separately, then thaw in the fridge overnight to assemble the day you want to eat it. It really does come together quickly.

  • This sounds just delicious! Discovering a great vegetarian main dish for (Christmas for me as I’m Canadian) has been my personal challenge recently so I certainly can’t wait to try this one out! I’ve seen a few galettes around but this ingredients list sounds best to me!

  • I have made and eaten couple of galletes but the rye crust is new to me. I love rye bread and I know I’m gonna love this. Thanks for sharing.

  • Anna, I agree, and after many years of side dishes, I was pleased to come up with something satisfying for vegans and omnivores alike. It’s also a nice hearty foil to some wonderful vegetable sides (Brussels sprouts and green beans, I’m looking at you!).

    Roxana, I hope you enjoy it. It’s not low on fat, but the rye flour adds a beautiful depth of flavor.

  • […] Caramelized Onion, Shaved Butternut and “Goat Cheese” Pizza from Diet, Dessert & Dogs Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Topping from What Would Cathy Eat? Sweet Potato and Caramelized Onion Spread from She Let Them Eat Cake […]

  • […] first time shredding brussel sprouts and slicing squash into rings and pleating dough for galette and swirling chocolate into pumpkin pie […]

  • […] instructed on the other blogs and here and there, I took it ought an hour ahead of time for when I had wanted to start baking, but […]

Leave A Comment