Butternut Squash Galette
Last night I made a butternut squash galette, because I was so won over by a friend's descriptions of her success with the smitten kitchen recipe. I often cruise several recipes for a given meal and then combine my favorite aspects of each and adapting ingredients based on what I have on hand, which is why I'm not the world's best baker but I can be an eager and adventurous cook (this is compounded by the fact that I notoriously do not measure things). So, I found this attractive recipe on the food network website, and went to town.
It turned out delicious, and I'll definitely make it again sometime. Here's my cobbled-together version of the recipe, in case you're interested. I basically used the Smitten Kitchen crust and the Food Network filling, with some adjustments to each (with a hat tip to Megan's Grandma's Pie Crust which inspired me to add lard).
For the pastry:
5/8 stick of cold butter (reserve the other 3/8 for filling)
3 tablespoons of lard (or just use a whole stick fo butter and omit the lard)
1 1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c sour cream
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 c ice water
Cut together the butter, lard, salt, and flour (I used a fork, but if you have a fancy pastry blender go ahead and use that) until it's combined--texture will be pebbly. In another bowl, mix the lemon juice, sour cream, and cold water. add wet ingredients to the butter/flour mixture just until combined (do not overwork pastry dough or it becomes tough). Roll up in wax paper and stick in the fridge for an hour.
For the filling:
One small butternut squash (or a portion of a larger one)
One cooking apple
One leek
One small onion (I used red onion b/c I had it, but other recipes have called for yellow)
3 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
three leaves fresh sage
3 sprigs fresh thyme or winter savory (I had the latter on hand)
a pinch of dried basil (optional)
one chive, minced
cayenne pepper to taste (I used a fresh jalapeno b/c I had it, but in retrospect would use cayenne)
pepper to taste
salt
1/4 c fontina cheese, grated (I saw recipes with other cheese, like blue and goat. I liked fontina)
Do NOT peel the apple or the squash. Cut the apple in quarters, core it, then slice each quarter in 3rds. Put apple in a bowl and toss with lemon juice and brown sugar.
Take the squash, cut lengthwise, remove seeds and stringy/pulpy bits. Slice it into thin crescents similar in width to the apple slices.
Cut the onion into half-moon slices, too.
Slice the leek into thin discs, beginning at the white part and going up into the light green part--stop if it seems to get tough. If your leek is small, use two of them.
In a bowl, combine the melted butter with the sage, thyme, basil, chive, hot pepper or cayenne, pepper, and salt.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Take the pastry out of the refrigerator after an hour. Turn onto a floured surface and roll until you have a rough circle about 12 inches in diameter. Transfer dough to an ungreased baking sheet.
Arrange the squash, apple, onion, and leeks in the center of the pastry, leaving a few inches' margin along the edge. I did a layer of squash, then apple, then onion, but you can arrange them more casually if you prefer. Pour buttery herb mixture evenly over the top, then sprinkle half of the cheese over that.
Pull the edges of the pastry up and pleat them so they stay. Most of the center will be exposed.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 55 minutes, then sprinkle remaining cheese over. Bake five minutes more, then remove from oven and let cool on a cooling rack. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature.