use real butter

Recipe: chanterelle galette

Jeremy told me that he thinks we may have seen the last of the hottest days of the year. I hope this is true. All signs are pointing to fall in the mountains: cooler nights, tiny spots of yellow leaves emerging in the sea of green aspen stands, huckleberry leaves turning red, and the sun crossing the sky with a lower profile than before.

dendritic pattern on an aspen leaf

purple huckleberry in the morning sun

Neva currently weighs in at 30 pounds for her 5 months of age. Her growth has slowed a little and it looks like she may wind up being a smaller dog, like Kaweah. She continues to lose her baby teeth, but still acts like a baby dog from time to time. Best of all, our pup has begun to mellow out in the evenings, resting at my feet or Jeremy’s feet when we work at our computers or curling up next to us on the couch. I look back at her puppy pictures and I can barely recognize her – that chunky chubby puppy has turned into a lanky teenager. We are starting to settle into a routine which makes all of us happier. We’ll get there someday.

staring at two tennis balls in the distance, not fetching

blowing bubbles in her water dish

After a big hot and dry spell, we’ve received a few rainstorms. These days I think of the rains in terms of huckleberries. A pulse of rain, lots of sunshine, more rain, more sun. That’s what the hucks like. As long as it doesn’t get too cold too soon in the high country, they could keep going for a few more weeks. But rain also makes me ponder what the mushrooms will do. If there is enough rain, we could see another flush of porcini or chanterelles. It could happen! Meanwhile, I have spent the past couple of weeks putting my chanterelle haul into delectable recipes to share with you good people. Today we’re going to go with a galette, because it’s not a terribly finicky pastry and it tastes amazing. Don’t fret if you can’t find chanterelles, use some other mushroom that you do have access to. Crimini works, is easy to find in most markets, and won’t break the bank.

onion, gruyère, egg, water, sugar, flour, salt, butter, more butter, milk, pepper, olive oil, chanterelles, thyme

pulse the butter into the dry ingredients

add ice water

form the dough into a disk

This recipe makes two galettes, but I halved it and only made one. I mean, I’m not made of chanterelles… Make the dough first as it needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. That gives you time to prep the filling and the béchamel sauce. The most time-consuming part of the recipe is caramelizing the onions. Recipes often claim it takes 20-30 minutes to caramelize onions, but that’s a load of hooey. It takes me a minimum of 45 minutes and sometimes it’s up to an hour. Perhaps it’s my elevation, but the important thing with caramelizing onions is to be patient and just stick with it. You want to caramelize – not burn – the onions. That requires low heat, stirring often, and plenty of time. The reward is worth the wait. I actually burned some of my onions at the start because someone had urgent puppy business.

slice the mushrooms and onions

sauté the onions in some olive oil

caramelizing the onions (almost there)

When the onions are done, set them aside and use the same pan to dry fry the chanterelles. Dry frying helps to wilt the mushrooms so they don’t soak up so much oil. When the mushrooms have begun to wilt, add the olive oil to the pan and sauté the chanterelles (or whatever variety of mushroom you like). Add the onions, thyme, and salt and pepper to the chanterelles. This is your mushroom filling.

adding oil to the wilted mushrooms

mix with the rest of the filling ingredients

The béchamel sauce is quick to come together. Make a roux, then stir in hot milk and cook until thick. Add some cheese to the sauce, and then temper with an egg. I used gruyère because I had some on hand, but any Swiss cheese should do.

stirring flour into melted butter

whisk hot milk in a little at a time

stir in the cheese

temper the beaten egg with hot sauce

At this point, the dough should be chilled and ready to roll out to a 10-inch diameter disk or about 1/8-inch thickness. Mine was closer to a 12-inch disk, yielding an 8-inch galette (which I prefer to a 6-inch galette). Pile most of the filling in the center leaving a 2-inch margin from the edge of the dough. Pour the béchamel on top and then finish with the rest of the mushroom filling. If you are making two galettes, obviously split the ingredients up evenly between the two. Folding the pleats is pretty straightforward and I wound up with seven. Egg wash the top of the pastry and then finish with some shredded cheese and a sprinkle of salt.

roll out the dough

pour the béchamel over the filling

top with remaining filling

fold the edges up

brush with egg wash

sprinkle with cheese and salt

I was pleasantly surprised by how flaky and delicate the pastry turned out. The filling is rich, creamy, sweet, and earthy. Chanterelles taste ever so slightly perfumy which worked well with the gruyère. Jeremy and I both loved this galette – a real winner. It was popular with my parents and my neighbors as well. Definitely a recipe worth making if you have chanterelles, but even if you don’t, I highly recommend making it with some other mushrooms. It’s so good.

the baked galette

worth the effort

a little indulgence every now and again…

Chanterelle Galette
[print recipe]
from Earthy Delights

dough
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
8 oz. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
2/3 cup ice water
1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water

mushroom filling
1 lb. chanterelle mushrooms or other wild mushrooms
2 tbsps olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
1 tbsp fresh thyme
salt
pepper

béchamel sauce
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsps all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten frothy
4 oz. gruyère cheese, grated
salt
pepper

Make the dough: Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times with the metal blade to blend. Add the butter cubes and pulse until the butter resembles pea-sized crumbs. Add the ice water all at once and pulse until just mixed. Shape the dough into 2 equal flattened disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Make the filling: Slice the mushrooms and set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and stir occasionally until translucent. Continue to cook the onions, reducing the heat to prevent burning, stirring every 5 minutes. If the onions start to burn, you can add a little water to the pan. Keep cooking until the onions are soft and caramelized – a dark brown color. It will take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour (took me 50 minutes). Remove from pan. Turn the heat to medium-high and toss the chanterelles (or whatever mushrooms you are using) into the pan and dry fry them for a minute or two until they begin to wilt. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté until the mushrooms are cooked. Turn off the heat and stir the onions, thyme, and salt and pepper into the mushrooms. Cook until any liquid in the pan has evaporated. Set aside.

Make the béchamel sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir or whisk until the mixture begins to bubble (about 3 minutes) to make a roux. Heat the milk in a separate saucepan until hot, but not boiling. Whisk 1/4 cup of the hot milk into the roux. Keep whisking more milk into the roux, a little at a time, until it is all incorporated. Reduce the heat to low and whisk until the sauce is thickened and smooth. Mix the grated cheese in a little at a time. Season with salt and pepper. Temper the beaten egg by whisking a little of the hot milk sauce into the egg to slowly raise the temperature. When a third of the sauce has been added to the egg, scrape it all back into the saucepan with the rest of the sauce. Stir to mix it well. Set aside.

Assemble the galette: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough disks out to 10-inch diameter circles, about 1/8-inch thick. Place a third of the mushroom filling in the center of each dough circle, making sure to leave a 2-inch boundary from the edge of the dough. Pour half of the béchamel sauce on each of the mushroom piles. Top the béchamel with the remaining mushrooms. Fold the 2-inch edges of the dough over the mushroom filling toward the center in approximately 6 pleats. Brush the top of the dough with the egg wash (the beaten egg mixed with water) and sprinkle some extra grated cheese and salt on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the crust turns golden. Makes 2 galettes. Serves 8-10.

more goodness from the use real butter archives

bacon corn hash with chanterelles

chanterelle mushroom hand pies

pappardelle with chanterelles

seared steak and chanterelle mushrooms on polenta

August 30th, 2015: 11:12 pm
filed under appetizers, baking, cheese, dairy, eggs, foraging, pastries, recipes, savory, vegetables