Beautiful Mushroom, Onion and Thyme Galette! I love the gorgeous rustic look of a freeform galette! Filled with mushrooms, thyme and shredded mozzarella cheese, this is rewarding to make and eat!
I’ve noticed that I am always looking ahead, waiting and anticipating the next step. Maybe it’s the planner in me or always wanting to be prepared. One could look at this in a positive light or one could say, I need to live more in the moment. We have some change coming in our family. Something that might take our little family to another state to live. The anticipation and uncertainty kills me but I have to breathe, pray, relax and just trust. It’s amazing how things work. Reading something, watching something or having a conversation with someone that completely speaks to you, touches you, gives you hope and perspective.
Things like this keep me in motion and my body running.
Things that make me smile. I have to rest in these things and wait to see what’s next. And, in the meantime, soak in and enjoy all the lovely, special moments. I can’t explain it but there’s a sense of peace, satisfaction, happiness that over takes me when I bake or create something. Watching how putting 4 simple ingredients together like: flour, salt, butter and water creates something magical and delicious.
There’s something so beautiful and romantic about a freeform galette. Maybe it’s the imperfections. The way that the crust is folded over and creates lovely ridges that surround and enclose your filling. No two galettes look the same. I love this. It may sound silly, but baking beautiful things like this help me to keep moving.
I’ve been wanting to bake a savory galette for some time now. Way too much time has passed since my last sweet galette. This will not happen again. Friends, if you only bake one thing from my little blog, this is the recipe. Not only will you make your very own pastry crust from scratch but you will also have with you . . . in your possession. . this lovely, absolutely mouth watering Mushroom, Onion and Thyme Galette.
It’s worth it.
So worth it.
Tips re: the crust. So, I’ve made a galette before but this time, my crust was phenomenal. I mean, this was the perfect crust: flaky, crunchy but not too crunchy and flavorful. I loved it. So, a couple things I did differently: 1) use very cold butter; straight from your fridge. 2) I baked mine on a Silpain. I’m telling you. This thing rocks. It helps to create the most beautiful and perfect texture of the crust on the bottom. It’s perfection.
BUT if you don’t have the time or don’t want to mess with a homemade crust, this recipe was totally inspired by my Onion, Thyme and Mushroom Tart, which uses puff pastry, which you can just buy from the store so this is a great alternative.
I hope you enjoy.
Mushroom, Onion and Thyme Galette
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) very cold unsalted butter cubed and immediately added
- 1/4 cup cold ice water
- 1 egg slightly beaten, for egg wash
For the filling:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil or unsalted butter split
- 2 cups onions sliced from root to tip; long strips
- 3 to 4 cups mushrooms sliced; I recommend Cremini
- 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves only
- kosher salt
- 2 to 3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
Special equipment needed:
- food processor or pastry blender or you could even use 2 forks
- rolling pin
Instructions
For the crust:
- Using your food processor, combine the flour, salt and butter and process for about 5 seconds. Sprinkle the ice water over the flour mixture and pulse until the pastry just begins to come together, about 10 seconds; you should still be able to see small pieces of butter in it.
- Transfer the pastry dough to a lightly floured work surface, gather it together to combine everything and roll out to a 12 inch circle. Transfer the dough to a prepared, parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate while you prepare the filling (You can also roll out the dough and use it right away if needed).
For the filling:
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil, or butter, in a large sauté pan over medium heat. After a minute or 2, add the onions and stir continuously until softened and tender, for about 15 to 18 minutes. To caramelize the onions for more flavor, continue cooking for another 20 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Using the same pan, use the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and, after a minute or 2, add the sliced mushrooms, thyme and season with a little salt and let cook until softened and tender, for about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add the balsamic vinegar and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for another 5 minutes, remove from the heat and combine with the cooked onions. Set aside.
To assemble the galette:
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Remove your dough from the refrigerator and spoon in the onion, mushroom mixture in the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Gently fold over the pastry border, overlapping the edges as much as possible and gently pressing the folds together.
- Brush the folded edges of the crust with the egg wash and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the crust has become a lovely golden brown. During the last 10 minutes or so of baking, sprinkle on the shredded mozzarella cheese. Use as little or as much as you want. Let cool for about 20 minutes before cutting and serving. Enjoy!
So, I don’t know if it’s the *high* off my galette. Remember, I get happy when I’m thoroughly pleased with things I bake in the kitchen and then a million things race through my head. . or the numerous blog posts I’ve read recently (it’s like therapy for me now) . . or the recent conversations I’ve had with friends . . but I just want to say a few things . .
So, I will leave you all with this:
- Don’t compare yourself to others. You’ll never be happy if you do.
- Love your family.
- If your parents live in a different state and are still around, call them. Visit them. Love them. Show them you care.
- Spend time with friends.
- Get out there. Enjoy life as much as possible.
- Baby steps are better than no movement at all.
A wise friend said this to me when I lived in San Francisco and I say it all the time now. Balance is key. Balance in life is key. I think this is something that you will continue to find and work on everyday in your life. Every day is new and brings new challenges. Balance is key.