I really had no plans for this New Year’s Eve, other than park myself on the sofa with Violet, sip some homemade peppermint cocoa while I re-binge all eight episodes of Bridgerton. My family and freinds had other plans, sliding in some end of year baking requests. For my brother Ken it was some individual lemon meringue and pecan pies–apparently he and his wife didn’t get enough of them at Thanksgiving. Another friend and regular bake sale enthusiast Alex wanted a birthday cake and his favorite loaves of bread for Saturday. And, after reading my blog post about babka, my Aunt Anna, momentarily inspired to try her hand at making my Aged Asiago-Pesto Babka, came to her senses and asked me to bake her a loaf instead. You see she realized after reading through the recipe that a) it was way more challenging than she’d thought and b) she’d be tempted (as always) to cut down on the butter, thereby ruining it. Besides, this way she could also get me to make her a couple of the Savory Galettes featured at the December bake sale.

My friend Stephanie, who incidentally did produce a respectable loaf of pesto babka on her first try, has been on me to post the recipe for my savory galettes so she could attempt to recreate them at home. She texted me her deep regret for not having ordered more of them immediately after taking her first bite. Gotta love her enthusiasm! I was way too deep in production to even bother snapping a quick photo of the finished product, much less document the process of making them. Since I had to make them again for my aunt, I figured I might as all take the opportunity, under considerably less stressful conditions, to do that now…so Stephanie can whip up her own batch.

Like all winning pastries, the Savory Galette begins with an impossibly flaky, buttery crust. Once again, my go-to pastry dough is Pate Brisee, which I rolled out to about 1/8″ thickness and cut into 6″ rounds. I find it best to do this ahead and keep the pastry rounds chilled in the fridge until ready to use. A word of warning, if you are not going to use the dough within a 24 hour period, keep it frozen. The reason is that the longer the dough sits in the refrigerator the more likely it will turn an unattractive shade of grey. I like to stack the rounds in between parchment squares to keep them from sticking before freezing. To thaw, simply lay the frozen rounds out (with the parchment lining) in a single layer on a sheet pan for about 10 mins.

Now for the filling, it’s really just a matter of prepping the components, which consists of caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, thinly-sliced butternut squash cooked until barely tender (I steamed them in the microwave for about 4 mins. on high), browned crumbled sage-scented sausage, and shredded Dutch gouda. Once the cooked components are cooled to room temperature, you’re ready to assemble.

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Before layering the components onto the pastry, I rolled the outside edges of each round a tiny bit thinner, about a 1/2″ border, slightly enlarging the circle. Doing this it allows for neater pleating later. To assemble, I spread out about a tablespoon of caramelized onion in the center, then layered on a heaping tablespoon of mushrooms, followed by generous sprinkling of shredded cheese, about 4-5 slices of butternut squash, a heaping tablespoon of sausage, topped with another sprinkling of cheese. I gathered up the edges, folding them towards the center, and pleated the edges all the way around.

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I brushed the border with egg wash and popped the parchment-lined sheet tray of galettes into the freezer to chill while I preheated the oven to 425F degrees. The galettes baked for about 25 mins, until the pastry was golden brown all over.

Savory Galettes

Yield: 6 galettes

• 6 pate brisee rounds (6″)*
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 c. sliced mushrooms (e.g. crimini, king oyster, button)
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/4 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, thinly sliced
• 2 large Italian sausage links (pork or turkey)
• 3 T. unsalted butter, divided
• 3 T. olive oil, divided
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 2 T. chopped fresh parsley
• 1 T. chopped fresh sage
• 2 T. dry vermouth or white wine, divided
• 1 c. shredded Dutch gouda cheese
• salt & pepper to taste

1. Heat 1 T. butter and 1 T. olive oil in large sauté pan on medium heat, add the onions and sauté until just translucent, salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to low and add the thyme and garlic. Continue cooking on low, stirring occasionally until onions are nicely soft and caramelized. Transfer the onions, removing the thyme stems, into a shallow dish to cool.
2. Add the remaining butter with 1 T. olive oil on medium heat and add the mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms begin to release moisture. Salt and pepper to taste, Add the parsley and continue sautéing until nicely brown. Deglaze the pan with 1 T. vermouth or wine. Transfer the mushrooms into a shallow dish to cool.
3. Return the pan to medium high heat and add the remaining olive oil. Remove the sausage from its casing and crumble into the pan. Add the sage. Cook the sausage until browned, deglazing the pan with the remaining vermouth or wine. Transfer the sausage into a shallow dish to cool.
4. Place the thinly sliced squash into a shallow microwave safe dish, lightly season with salt, cover and microwave on high for about 4 mins. or until squash is just tender. Allow the squash to cool to room temperature.
5. To assemble, roll each chilled pastry round slightly thinner along the outside edge, creating a larger 1/2″ border. Spread out about a tablespoon of caramelized onion in the center, then layered on a heaping tablespoon of mushrooms, followed by generous sprinkling of shredded cheese, about 4-5 slices of butternut squash, a heaping tablespoon of sausage, topped with another sprinkling of cheese.
6. Gather up the edges, folding them towards the center, and pleated the edges all the way around. Transfer each galette onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Brush the border with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 T. water) and chill in the freezer while oven preheats to 425F degrees.
7. Bake galettes for about 25-28 mins. or until they are golden brown all over.

Pate Brisee Dough (adapted from the Flour cookboo

• 3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 T. sugar
• 1 t. sea salt
• 1 lb. unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ pieces and chilled
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/3 c. whole milk

1. Combine the dry ingredients in food processor, pulsing a few times blend. 
2. Add the butter pieces and pulse at 2-3 second intervals until the butter has been broken down into the size of popcorn kernels. 
3. Whisk together the wet ingredients then add it to the dry mixture. 
4. Continue pulsing until dough comes together in large clumps, then dump the entire mass onto a sheet of plastic wrap and shape it into a flat disk by folding the plastic wrap up over the dough and pushing down on it with the palm of your hands. 
5. Chill the dough for at least an hour before using.