Mushroom Galette

Ursula and I before we dug in.

This galette was just amazing, as is every item I've made from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Deborah Madison did some serious testing of her recipes because they are all excellent. I don't have the words to describe the sensation that came over me when I ate this galette. It was wonderful. I was speechless.

If you love mushrooms than this recipe is a must try. It's savory, fragrant, tasty, and good to look at. It is rather labor intensive and quite the production so share with friends who can appreciate the effort. On a whim I invited two friends over at the last minute and I was fortunate that they were able to come over since there was no way I could eat this all by myself.

Ingredients
-Galette Dough (see June 2007 recipes)
-2 Cups Quick Mushroom Stock (Deborah makes her own stock; I used store bought vegetable broth)
-2 to 3 tsp Dijon mustard to taste
-Aged red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar (made this so long ago couldn't tell you how much I used; a few T)
-1 large onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
-2 tsp minced rosemary or 1 tsp dried
-salt and freshly milled pepper
-2 pinches red pepper flakes
-1/2 pound portobello or shiitake mushrooms
-1 lb large white mushrooms
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-3 T tomato paste
-1 T butter
-2 T chopped parsley
-2 T melted butter or beaten egg for glaze

Preparation
Make the dough.

Season the stock with a few tsp mustard and just enough vinegar to sharpen the flavors. Set aside.

Heat 1 T of the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and rosemary and cook over medium heat until the onion is lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Season 1/2 tsp salt , a little pepper, and the red pepper flakes. Remove to a bowl.

Heat half the remaining oil in the same skillet over high heat. Add half the mushrooms and saute until browned, then season with salt and pepper. Remove to the bowl with the onions. Then repeat with the remaining mushrooms. Return everything to the pan, add the garlic and tomato paste diluted with a few spoonfuls of stock , and a tsp of the vinegar. Add the remaining stock, bring to a boil, then stir in the butter and the parsley. Cook for 5 minutes, then drain, reserving the juices.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out the dough for one large galette. Loosely fold the dough over the filling and brush it with melted butter. Bake until the crust is browned, about40 minutes. Heat any reserved juices and spoon them into the mushrooms.

Peach Galette

Peaches are summer's nectar. Their fragrance nature's perfume. The bright orange yellow blush reminds me of sunsets in polluted cities I lived in and bygone days when I would pass an entire afternoon picking peaches off a friend's tree, the juices dripping down my face while we stuffed ourselves silly, to the point of illness. I was deliriously high on sugar.

To show my gratitude to a book club member for helping me out a few months ago, I decided to make peach galette to share while we discussed Middlesex this evening. I actually wanted to make apricot galette but their season ended in July, and the taste test at Whole Foods quickly convinced me that I needed to move on to better fruit. After a discussion with a friendly shopper, the produce guy, and three taste tests, I ended up with more peaches than I knew what to do with. Much to my surprise, the best tasting peaches at Whole Foods were the conventionally grown ones; they were also $2 a pound more expensive than the organic ones! It was so worth it.

The galette was delicious. I thought it would be super sweet because the peaches were so very sweet, plus I added a few tablespoons of sugar but it was simply scrumptious if I do say so myself. I bet this would be great with nectarines. It's their peak season too. Eat fruit, be happy! At the very least, buy lots of fruit, cut and freeze to make summer treats in the dead of winter when such luxurious fruit is not available!

Ingredients
-Galette Dough (see June 2007 entries)
-1/3 cup dry bread crumbs (used about a 1/2 cup; see previous entry on prep)
-3 to 4 ripe peaches, sliced thinly
-3 T butter, melted
-3 T sugar or more to taste

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Roll the dough into a 14 inch circle (do this on top of parchment paper). Leaving a 2 inch border, cover the center of the dough with bread crumbs (necessary to keep crust crispy with all the juices). Arrange peaches over the crumbs, making a single layer. Fold the edges of the dough over the fruit, overlapping to make wide pleats. Brush the dough with butter and drizzle any remaining butter over the fruit. Sprinkle both the crust and peaches with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes at 425, then reduce heat to 375 and continue baking until fruit is tender and crust is browned, 20 to 25 minutes more. Remove and let cool to lukewarm before serving.

So I skipped the butter step which I don't recommend. It really does help the crust brown more easily. Seriously, after 1 1/2 sticks, what's another 3 T. Don't skimp on the butter!

If using apricots, select 12 large, ripe, fragrant ones.