The grown-ups’ dinner on a night the kids are eating from the freezer. A galette is the least fussy thing you can do with good pastry, no tin, no blind baking, just a round of rough puff rolled out, piled up in the middle, and folded over at the edges. The only real rule is to drive the water out of the mushrooms before they go anywhere near the pastry, or the bottom steams instead of crisping.
Yield and time
- Makes: serves 2 adults as a main with salad, or 4 as a starter
- Hands-on: 40 minutes
- Total: about 1 hour 15 minutes including the bake
Ingredients
The pastry
- about 400g rough puff (half a batch), fridge-cold
- 1 egg, beaten, for the wash
The filling
- 400g chestnut (Swiss brown) mushrooms, sliced 5mm
- 2 banana shallots (or 1 small onion), thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- leaves from 4 sprigs of thyme
- 50ml white wine (optional)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil and 20g butter
- salt and pepper
The base
- 150g ricotta (shop-bought, or make your own)
- 40g parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to finish
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper
To finish
- flaky salt and chopped parsley
A soft goat’s cheese (about 120g) in place of the ricotta-and-parmesan base makes a tangier, richer galette if that’s the mood.
Roll the pastry
Roll the rough puff on a lightly floured bench to a rough round about 32cm across and 4mm thick. Lift it onto a lined baking tray and slide it into the fridge while you cook the filling. Cold pastry holds its layers; warm pastry tears and leaks.
Cook the mushrooms dry
Get the oil and butter hot in a wide pan. Brown the mushrooms in two batches in a single layer, crowd them and they boil. Two minutes undisturbed, a stir, another two, until deeply golden and the liquid they threw out has cooked away. Out into a bowl.
Drop the heat to medium-low. The shallots in with a pinch of salt, and cook gently for 10 minutes until soft and caramelising at the edges. Garlic and thyme for a minute more, until the garlic smells cooked.
Return the mushrooms, pour in the wine if using, and let it bubble away until the pan is dry again, a couple of minutes. Season well. Tip everything back into the bowl and let it cool; a hot, wet filling on cold pastry is the one way to get a soggy base.
Build and fold
Beat the ricotta, parmesan, grated garlic and lemon together, season, and spread it over the chilled pastry leaving a clear 5cm border all round. Pile the cooled mushrooms on top.
Fold the border up and over the filling, working round the circle and pleating the pastry where it overlaps, it should look rustic, not neat. Brush the folded border with beaten egg and dust it with a little extra parmesan.
Bake
Bake at 200°C fan for 30-35 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden all over and the base is crisp, lift an edge with a spatula to check it isn’t pale underneath. Rest for 10 minutes, then scatter with parsley and flaky salt. Cut into wedges.