Tastes like home.
As the mushroom season kicks in, this savory galette is a perfect winter alternative to fruit galettes, our family’s summer fave,
Jade Miles says…
Fruit galettes are one of our family’s fave dishes during summer, but when the days are cool and the summer fruit finishes, I miss them. So, I created this savoury galette to keep us running the galette gauntlet.
We live in northeast Victoria, a place of four distinct seasons, and autumn is without doubt the one I delight in most. As the days turn cold and the months of hibernation are seen on the horizon, mushroom season kicks in.
The harvest window lasts about four weeks, and we make a point of heading into the nearby pine forest with our baskets and foraging knives to harvest the magnificent flowers of the mycelium network beneath our feet. The pine forests hold you in a blanket of muffled quiet – a few years ago we made the family rule that if we take visitors along for the experience, we don’t run or yell when collecting, as it dilutes the magic. It’s often undertaken in silence, and it’s beautiful to sit on the soft needle-filled floor and look up through the sentinels reaching for the sunlight. Everything about mushroom harvesting says “home” to me and it sinks us deeper into our seasonal way of navigating our year.
Post-harvest, we dehydrate mushrooms for our winter soups, pickle a few so we can add a bit of punch to meals, and make this tart on high rotation while they’re fresh. Served with a green salad, it’s the perfect post‑harvest lunch.
Ingredients
Shortcrust Pastry
2¼ cups plain flour
175g unsalted chilled and chopped butter
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons chilled water
Filling
2 onions finely sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 cups of sliced mushrooms
Extra butter, for cooking
3 tablespoons of fresh thyme, picked from its stems and separated into loose leaves
½ cup crumbled feta or goat’s cheese
Method
If making the pastry in a food processor, it’s as simple as throwing it all in together and mixing until it forms a cohesive ball of dough. If mixing by hand (which is a lovely tactile task if you have the time), make a well in your flour and add the remaining ingredients except the water. Working with the tips of cool fingers, rub together until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the water to bring it all together, creating a single large ball of dough. Be sure to work fast so the butter doesn’t melt, and put the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest before using it.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. On the stove, add the onion, olive oil and balsamic vinegar to a heavy-based pan and cook on medium heat until caramelised. In a separate pan, cook the sliced mushrooms in a pat of butter over medium heat until soft.
Meanwhile, roll out the pastry into a rough circle about 2mm thin, then transfer to an oiled baking dish.
Add the caramelised onion and spread evenly across the base. Sprinkle with half the fresh thyme, then spread the mushrooms evenly over the onion and add the last of the thyme.
Top with feta. Fold over the edge of the dough so that the cooking juices won’t escape.
Cook for 25 minutes in the oven until golden.
HUDDLE: WISDOM, SKILLS AND RECIPES FOR BUILDING A TOMORROW OF TOGETHERNESS BY JADE MILES IS OUT NOW.
Published in ed#737