Last week, Heather & I joined some neighbors at the Fourth Annual Summit Neighborhood Association Fall Cook-Off. Somehow, we never knew about this event, even though we’ve lived in this neighborhood for years. (I think that they were afraid that if we knew about it, we’d dominate the competition!) Never one to miss a chance to cook, smack talk (see previous parenthetical comment), and compete with friends and neighbors, we signed right up!
Our original plan was to make a butternut squash galette, capitalizing on our previous success with Smitten Kitchen’s tomato and blueberry galette recipes. The week got the best of us, so we defaulted to another of Deb’s (simpler, quicker) recipes, which we have aptly titled Best Lunch Salad Ever (Farro with Roasted Butternut Squash). It’s quick and easy and delicious. Turns out, that was a pretty good choice, since the “celebrity judges” (from Stock Culinary Goods, and the Sandwich Hut, and last year’s first place winner) awarded us second place! Not. Too. Shabby.
Our prize was a gift certificate to Olive del Mondo – our local olive oil and vinegar shop.
But once that butternut squash galette was on our minds, we couldn’t resist! We stopped at the Farmer’s Market and picked up some fresh sage, an onion, another butternut squash, and got to work. Here goes!
Butternut Squash & Sage Galette – adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Pastry Dough Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup ice water
1. Whisk the flour and salt in a large bowl. Combine the butter and flour using a pastry blender or your hands, working it into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add this to the butter-flour mixture. With your fingertips or a wooden spoon, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Pat the lumps into a ball.
3. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 2 days.
Filling Ingredients:
- 1 small butternut squash (about one pound), peeled, halved, seeded, and cut into a 1/2-inch dice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced in half-moons
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Pinch of sugar
- 3/4 cup fontina cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces), grated
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Toss squash with olive oil and a half-teaspoon of the salt and roast on a baking sheet for 30 minutes or until pieces are tender, stirring once. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. While squash is roasting, melt butter in a heavy skillet and cook onion over low heat with the remaining half-teaspoon of salt and pinch of sugar. Stir occasionally, until soft and lightly golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.
3. Raise the oven temperature to 400F. Mix squash, caramelized onions, cheese and herbs together in a bowl.
4. On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a roughly 12-inch roundish shape (mine is usually a bit more free-form and oval). Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Spread the filling over the dough, leaving about a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold the dough over the filling and pleat the edges to keep it together; the center will be open.
5. Bake until golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes, and then cut into wedges.
Wow, I mean wow. First of all, the smells! Just a few minutes after you slip this in the oven, your neighbors will be a-knockin! But the 30 minutes of waiting will be worth it, I promise. The buttery pastry dough, sweet squash, caramelized onions, rich cheese, and earthy sage just melt together. These are the quintessential fall flavors and, I think, first place-worthy (but that’s just me and my smack-talking again).
Before you run off to roast up some squash and join the fun, treat yourself to a viewing of this trailer for a documentary about James Beard. If you’re a foodie, a home cook, a farmer’s market shopper, or a locavore, you’ve got James Beard to thank! Help bring his story (and your own) to life and get some great swag in the process.
(Full disclosure: one of the filmmakers is my aunt, Beth Federici. The Kickstarter Campaign ends Friday, November 7th and they are 84% funded!)
Enjoy!
