Butternut squash galette

I'm finally back to blogging! Sorry that I haven't posted in a while - Andrew and I were in India for a couple weeks, and then I had to go out of town again for a conference. I probably don't need to tell you that we ate really well in India - between the home-cooked meals and a few nights eating out, we got to try cuisine from several regions of the country. Everything was sooo delicious! I'm really looking forward to cooking more Indian food at home now, so you can expect some posts on that theme in the future.

But for today, I'm going to tell you about this butternut squash galette, which would make a nice vegetarian addition to a holiday meal. Unsurprisingly, there is a very limited selection of locally grown vegetables available in Boston during the winter (maybe Three Seasons of Food would have been a better blog title?). Butternut squash is one of the few things that is still readily available, and I was determined to make a main course with it. I came across a butternut squash galette recipe that was originally published in the February 2009 issue of Gourmet, and modified it a bunch, with some inspiration from Smitten Kitchen. I was really happy with the result - the filling is nice and savory, and the crust was easy to make and shape. This was my first time making a galette, and I enjoyed the free-form nature of the crust - way easier to make than a tart or quiche. I'm looking forward to experimenting with more galette fillings in the future.

Butternut squash galette
Adapted from this recipe 
Serves 6 

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I substituted whole wheat flour for half of this)

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 1 tbs unsalted butter

4-6 tbs ice-cold water

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 (2 1/2 pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 tbs olive oil

2 small, or 1 large onion, peeled, cut in half, and then thinly sliced

1 large clove garlic, minced

3/4 cup (packed) coarsely grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 deg F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Pulse flour, cubed butter, and 1/2 tsp salt in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle ice-cold water over mixture, and pulse just until dough forms a ball (don't overwork it). Press dough into a 5-inch disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to one day.

Toss butternut squash cubes with 1 tbs oil and 1/2 tsp salt, and spread onto a baking sheet. Bake at 400 deg F until tender, about 35 minutes, and then transfer to a large bowl. Reduce oven temperature to 375 deg F. While squash is baking, melt 1 tbs butter in a heavy skillet over low heat. Add onions and a pinch of salt and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and golden, about 25 minutes.Increase heat to medium, add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds. Remove onions and garlic from heat.

Coarsely mash squash with a fork, and then add onions to the bowl. Stir together, and allow mixture to cool for a few minutes. Add cheese, mix filling well and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough out into a 13-inch circle. Transfer dough to a baking sheet. Spread filling in an even layer on the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold dough edges in to cover the outer edge of the filling, pleating and overlapping dough as necessary. Brush pastry with beaten egg, and bake at 375 deg F until crust is golden brown and cooked through, about 40 minutes. Cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.