wild mushroom and stilton galette
This dish didn’t reappear in my life until a year ago June at my bridal shower, in the form of a card she’d tucked into a recipe book my sister compiled from guests. I laughed when I looked at it: why would anyone ever make such a pesky recipe again, one cluttered with such exhausted, testy memories? More pertinently, why on earth would I go another round with it on a Wednesday night when I was so tired, even boiling pasta seemed a stretch? It really only sheds further light on my madness, or perhaps denial. Sometimes you really need the exact opposite of what you crave; I mean, my day had been bad enough, why add insult to injury by forcing us to eat an uninspired dinner?
Now, about the funk, or should I say, fungh: with over a pound of wild mushrooms and five ounces of blue cheese, this is not a recipe for feeble palated or stench-averted. That I managed to find a blend with an especially pungent bouquet — a gigantic fresh porcini (two stores were out of the more-affordable dried), a few ounces of mousseron (a new discovery, and possible favorite), oyster and shiitake — didn’t reduce the overall olfactory impact, either. All minced together, it like the great cave door at Murray’s had been swung open, and for the half of you whose stomachs haven’t turned at the thought of this, you know what a good thing it must be.
While the recipe is on the fussy side — freezing flour, rolling out a sticky dough and then pushing back the finish time even further by cooling the filling first — not a one of these steps does anything but improve the outcome. I think of this like a great side dish for a dinner party; it’s rustic enough that it won’t upstage any rack of lamb or Thanksgiving turkey, but intense enough that it will get the affection it deserves. And for a wiped-out Wednesday? Well, 10 p.m. is never too late to have the best part of your day.
Mushroom and Stilton Galette
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Seasonal Celebration Series, Autumn
For the pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into
pieces
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water
For the filling:
1/4 ounce dried wild mushrooms, such as chanterelles, porcini or shiitakes
1 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup sliced green onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 lb. assorted fresh wild mushrooms, such as
chanterelles, porcini and shiitakes, brushed
clean and large mushrooms thinly sliced
1/2 lb. fresh button mushrooms, brushed clean
and thinly sliced
5 ounces Stilton or other good-quality blue cheese
1. To make the 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.
2. Meanwhile, make the filling: Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and add the boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes until softened. Drain the mushrooms and mince finely.
3. Preheat an oven to 400°F.
4. In a large fry pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the green onions and saute, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary and thyme and continue to cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Increase the heat to high, add the fresh and rehydrated mushrooms, and saute until the mushrooms are tender and the liquid they released has completely evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
5. On a floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 12-inch round. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Crumble the blue cheese into a bowl, add the cooled mushrooms and stir well. Spread the mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold the border over the mushrooms and cheese, 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.
If one, say, didn’t much care for the funghi family, what could one replace that with?
I was thinking about that, too, because that dough is wonderful; flaky, soft, light, tart – so why not versatile? I think you could try for several cups of any sauteed vegetable/cheese/herb mixture: potatoes? leeks? maybe spinach (or is that still verboten) and feta? zucchini? Let me know what you try.
Ooh, and I forgot to mention but in gilding the lilly a little, I used a pinch of truffle salt in the crust. Possibly over the top, but also possibly, nobody here complained.
//10 p.m. is never too late to have the best part of your day.//
A frakkin Men. This sounds like an amazing dish, and I always need meatless dishes that can do double duty as a side or veg entree. Thank you!
Deb! I thought of you this past weekend, Broadway Panhandler is newly opened on 8th street, just west of Broadway, and is having a major sale, as in 40% of Le Creuset and other assorted cooking finds! go! stock up!
:) love, another cook!
Smitten, I’m sorry this is off-topic here, but I need to know if your archives are still in existence somewhere! I was telling my sis about your pre-marriage dating life, and your blog, because she and I are both in our 30’s and still mostly-happily single (gasp!). I said there’s hope to find a nice guy because you and Mr. Smitten seem like the perfect pair. Anyway, are your archives still in cyberspace somewhere? Thanks!
Jenblossom – It totally does. Entree at home, but side dish for someplace else. It keeps surprisingly well; one of the best things about quiches and tarts, I think. But seriously? We have got to stop eating dinner at 10 p.m. I don’t think I’ve gotten 8 hours sleep in a month. I need my beauty rest!
Katie – Ooh, would you believe I’ve never been there? I use Bowery Kitchen Supply a lot, because it’s now in my neighborhood. That said, I’ve been eyeing this pot for eons, and while I always find it really marked down, I think another $25 off could do the trick. It seems really versatile fo a small kitchen.
Tropicgirl – They’re still at my old URL – this pot for eons, and while I always find it really marked down, I think another $25 off could do the trick. It seems really versatile fo a small kitchen.
Tropicgirl – They’re still at my pre-iVillage URL – thesmitten.com. A lot of the links and images are broken, and uh, fixing them will be done any day now. Any day…
Deb you’re braver than I to cook at 10 pm. But, then again, I’m a morning person so I’m up baking muffins at 7 am on Saturday morning. This mushroom galette sounds delicious and all the steps make sense. The crust reads like it comes out really flaky, is this true? Also, I’ve started a count down to my cooking classes, 23 days until chocolates and I become one and my thighs become much larger. :D
40% off Le Creuset? Why oh why do I not live in NY!!!!!! I have a 7qt round on my Christmas list and I asked my hubby what the chances are of getting it had he said they were good.
And what a great shower gift. I am assuming the idea was each guest bring their best or favorites recipe(s) and it was all put together in a book. That is a great idea!
This tart looks like it was worth the effort!
Jenifer – It does! It’s very impressively flaky and not hard, so it doesn’t shatter when you cut it. It’s sticky when you roll it out, but it stretches well, so just flour the board and the surface really well and you should only need to roll it out once. Plus, uh, it’s rustic! Jagged eges are encouraged.
Lisa – While no 40% off every day, I have to say I’m pretty impressed with Amazon’s prices on cookware. Elise at Simply Recipes tracks shopping alerts a lot, like great reductions on specific colors of Le Crueset, as well as The Kitchen at Apartment Therapy occasionally.
Brilynn – It really is. I mean, even though it seems like a lot of steps, it makes me wish more recipes were this detailed, so almost nothing can go wrong. I *really* wish I’d brought in some leftovers for lunch today!
This is so beautiful. I had the idea of trying this sort of finely chopped eggplant ragout that I make with onions and campari tomatoes (no oil) which I think would make a nice filling for this, with some fresh shaved parmesean to finish?
Along the lines of saving money, I have to say nextag is a nice site to comparison shop.
Wow, that is a lot of fungi but I would so eat it. Looks great.
what is RTFM? read the f’in menu?
I agree that sometimes a day can be so bad, you just can’t sit down to eat pasta or a stirfry – you have to make it up to yourself somehow.
Last night I made lamb, spinach, risotto, and a roasted acorn squash cut in half with ginger, maple syrup, and butter on it.
Appetizer was a ripe avocado with lime and salt. MMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
will you make me the crust and bring it over??
I just don’t have the room to roll out that much dough…. sigh…
maybe it would make killer bruschetta topping
there’s nothing i love more than stinky cheese plus musky, sexy mushrooms
ugh, so hungry!
It looks delicious tp me. Alternative filling suggestion for the fungi-tarians could be feta, diced figs and bacon.
That looks so good! I’ve been contimplating what to make for Thanksgiving and was mulling over a wild mushroom risotto but now that I see this beautiful galette I may have to make a tough decision. Risotto or galette? I think my dinner guests would be happy with either one.
Better late than never…
Just wanted to say that I made this recipe today – made some adjustments in the filling, but what I feel is most important to share is the fact that the dough can be easily made in a food processor, and it is nonetheless incredibly flaky and tasty. Just pulse the flour and butter (I also suspect that the freezing is unnecessary, and it’s enough to have the butter very cold, but I did freeze them so not sure), then add the liquids in two-three batches while pulsing. It works great, and definitely sounds easier than the way described in the recipe (especially since we don’t have a pastry cutter).
Very, very good – did not bother with the dried mushrooms, but still good. Dont have a food processor, made it with hands and 2 knives – this is for those of you who are not super-foodies. Only regret is SO VERY BUTTERY. Cant really eat this too often.