Lisa's Culinary Atrocities

     I cannot believe it took me this long to finally waffle a grilled cheese sandwich, but today was the day: Buttered Demi Miche, Dalmati Fig Spread, oven caramelized onions and Tintern Welsch Cheddar with chives and shallots.

The Demi Miche is dense, rustic and a bit sour.  The Tintern Welsch Cheddar with chives and shallots (found at Trader Joe’s) is semi-firm like Feta, sharp yet aromatic, and very rich.  Cast iron oven-caramelized onions add a sweet tang, yet have that certain deep caramel flavor that only comes from cast iron.  The Dalmati Fig Spread is…figgy and sweet, so I only used enough to taste the fig without over-doing the sweet.  Overall, the balance of these flavors was a fantastic combination. This waffle lab has given me oodles of ideas!

Oh, and I am happy. :)

     Mmm.  Galette.  According to Wikipedia, a galette is a general term used in French to designate various types of flat, round or free-form crusty cakes.  To ME, it is that and a whole lot more.  It is a delicious, rustically beautiful, flaky mass of artistic intrigue and challenge—one that I must perfect!  So, I’ve thus decided that 2011 is the year to finally delve into the world of  homemade pastas and doughs… 

I found this recipe from one of my favorite food-blogs, Smitten Kitchen; every recipe I have tried from her site has been excellent.   I have been wanting to make this for some time, but have never really REALLY tried my hand at baking from scratch, so, having a snow-day to spend in the kitchen, I figured it was high time I got to it.  The process took me most of the day, but only because I wanted to take the extra few hours it requires to perfectly oven-caramelize the onions in my cast iron dutch oven.  Oh NUM.

I followed her recipe exactly, except for the oven-caramelizing.  The hardest part for me was making the dough, but with practice I am sure it will become easier. The rest was more time consuming, as opposed to labor intensive, but it was definitely worth it.

Seeing as that this was my first attempt, it was not as pretty as Smitten Kitchen’s, but was incredibly tasty, nonetheless.  The crust was very rich and much like a crumbly pie crust.  The squash, caramelized onions, nutmeg and sage were a DIVINE pairing. The crunchy and sweetly savory soft juxtaposition…*shaking head*…mmm.  I made one for dinner and one for our lunches, and found that eating it cold was equally as good.  I am very very much looking forward to making more!  I love you Galette.

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette (original recipe here)

For the pastry:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose (gluten free) flour
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter or Earth Balance, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:

• 1 small butternut squash (about one pound)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 to 2 tablespoons butter/Earth Balance
• 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced in half-moons
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, or to taste
• 3/4 cup fontina cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces), grated or cut into small bits
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves

1. Caramelize onions: Place butter in a cast iron dutch oven or skillet and cook salted onions in 350 degree F oven for 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally, until soft and rich golden brown.  Stir in nutmeg.

2. Make pastry: In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Place the butter in another bowl. Place both bowls in the freezer for 1 hour. Remove the bowls from the freezer and make a well in the center of the flour. Add the butter to the well and, using a pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make another well in the center. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add half of this mixture to the well. With your fingertips, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Remove the large lumps and repeat with the remaining liquid and flour-butter mixture. Pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. Prepare squash: Peel squash, then halve and scoop out seeds. Cut into a 1/2-inch dice. Toss pieces with olive oil and a half-teaspoon of the salt and roast on foil/parchment paper lined (for neatness sake) sheet, in 375 degrees F oven, for 30 minutes or until pieces are tender, turning it midway if your oven bakes unevenly. Set aside to cool slightly.

4. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Mix squash, caramelized onions, cheese and herbs together in a bowl.

5. Assemble galette: On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round (or two 6-inch rounds). Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Spread squash, onions, cheese and herb mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold the border over the squash, onion and cheese mixture, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open.

6. Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature. Serves 6.