Squash Walnut Galette (and NYC!!)
It strikes me that I'm somewhat of a homebody. Not by choice, really--just necessity. Mary calls this the "lockstep" phase of life. Between childcare arrangements, Yancey's crazy schedule, Wyatt's school, and a tight budget, it just doesn't seem worth it to get out of step, break formation. And, to my delight and surprise, there are many joys in routine. Before I became a parent, I dreaded having to say things like, "Sorry we can't come to the party. That's right at the kids' bedtime." Now, most the time, I'm happy to put the kids to bed early and have a quiet night at home. I know there are some amens out there.
BUT (did you feel that coming?) I'm going to NYC with Bethany in three weeks! I'd love to play it cool and just post from the enviable destination like it's no big deal, but I'm excited and this is a really big deal. For lots of reasons--time out of lockstep, chances to sample some of of NYC's food bounty. Even more than that, though, 3 days with Bethany without our collective four children. She said, "I don't care if we get on the plane, read magazines, and turn around and fly right back home." Spoken like a true mother. Bethany's sister is in theater, and she's working on the production of Dreamgirls, opening at the Apollo Theater the weekend we're going. Hello, free tickets, backstage passes, and being out as late as I want. (Some of you are laughing--you know 10:30 is living on the edge for me).
So here's where you come in--where should we eat?! I imagine we'll eat lots of street food/cheap nibbles, but we're planning on one big splurge, too. I'm looking forward to using your suggestions as a travel guide.
And here's another galette for you. You are probably not inspired by these anymore, but The Leftoverist is a one-trick pony sometimes. For the party, I made four of these and four with bacon, caramelized onion, and Gruyere. The squash was more popular, but maybe that's just because it was first in line. (Caterer's trick: put the things you have the least of at the end of the buffet table). I had a whole one leftover that I took to my meeting the next morning. That's one lovely thing about savory tarts--they can be eaten at any time of day and still shine. Believe me--I know.
Butternut Squash and Walnut Galette
My mom and I have been having a back-and-forth about galette dough lately--more flaky, all-butter dough, or the sour cream cornmeal one that's always been my standby? I've alternated, but have landed on the sour cream cornmeal dough, mostly because it's sturdier. It IS a little less flaky, but has great flavor, and the dough is incredibly easy to work with. I've included it again here even though it's already on the site. I think I instructed you to use fingertips in that recipe, and I've been doing it in the food processor lately. Either is fine, but the food processor sure is quick.
I used butternut here, but you could use sugar pumpkins (yum!), delicata, kabocha, etc. The key is to cook it like I instruct if you don't want it to be too mushy or too hard.
For dough:
from Baking with Julia Child. I always double this. The extra disc of dough will keep in the fridge for several days.
1 c. flour
pinch salt
1/4 c. cornmeal
7 Tb. cold unsalted butter
1/3 c. ice water
3 Tb. sour cream
Pulse flour and cornmeal together in the bowl of a food processor. Drop butter in and pulse until butter is in pea-sized lumps. Stir ice water and sour cream together in a small bowl, then drizzle over flour mixture. Pulse again about 8 times just until mixture holds together--you don't want to pulse it so much that it forms itself into a ball.
Gather dough together and form into a ball. Put ball on a piece of plastic wrap, loosely gather plastic wrap around it and twist, then press dough into a disc. Refrigerate for one hour before rolling out. Roll out on a floured surface till dough is about 1/8″ thick. Fold into quarters and transfer to baking sheet. Unfold and fill.
For filling:
1 1/2 c. peeled seeded butternut squash, sliced into 1/4" chips (some will be crescent-shaped because of the squash's shape. I don't worry about them all looking the same)
2 ts. olive oil
1 c. whole milk ricotta
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. grated parmesan or Gruyere
1/4 c. coarsely chopped walnuts
1 Tb. chopped fresh rosemary or thyme
For egg wash: 1 egg beaten with a teaspoon of water
Put a baking sheet in the oven and preheat oven to 375.
Toss cut and peeled squash with olive oil, salt and pepper. Dump onto preheated baking sheet, making sure each piece is lying cut side down and they're not piled on top of each other. You're looking for al dente squash here, not fully cooked and mushy. Roast until beginning to brown and crisp up on the edges, about 12 minutes. It will taste a little underdone. Set aside.
Mix ricotta, egg, and parmesan with a little salt and pepper. Spread evenly over dough, leaving about an inch around the outside. Arrange cooked squash over ricotta mixture, and top with walnuts, rosemary, and another sprinkle of parmesan. With a basting brush, lightly brush egg wash over crust.
Bake at 375 for about 25 minutes, until crust is golden.
October 19, 2009
Reader Comments (22)
ooh lucky me first one to respond, but I should be in bed. Everything about the mom lines are completely true and I agree with your friend Bethany about flying on the airplane. My husband would travel every two to three months to Grand Rapids, MI and tell me about how miserable it was to change planes three times to finally get where you're going. Me, "No, it sounds wonderful, because you don't have the kids with you while you're traveling."
as for NYC, I only went to one place that stands out and that was over 10 years ago and it was the Carnegie Deli. They make the most enormous sandwiches and cheesecakes. They are right next to Carnegie Hall (hence the name) and I remember it being a well-known place, but not flashy by any stretch of the imagination. It was good though. Have tons of fun staying up till 11:)
I will be really really happy for you once I get around to finishing my pity party... Wah Wah Wah, woe is me.
Thanks for the lovely old-fashioned snail-mail note today. :)
do you have room in your suitcase for me?
I can't wait to hear about NYC! I'm going there in August, so let me know if you find some hidden gems!
Hey Sarah - my husband and his brother made a trip to NYC a few years back and went to an amazing restaurant called The Grocery. You have to make reservations way ahead of time as with most nice NYC restaurants. They said it was incredible. They are both foodies and I can't wait for a trip to NYC just to go to that restaurant! Hope that helps!
that is a killer galette! gorgeous photos!
I'm super-excited about this new recipe...! Anything with butternut squash... I'm an addict!!! Thanks tons, Sarah!!!
I'm intrigued by the crust. Since the three savory galettes I make are from Macrina, I always use her dough recipe which is just flour, butter, shortening, salt and ice water. Some time when I'm feeling more brave, I'll attempt this one - it sounds great.
My parents always took us to Angelo's in Little Italy for amazing Italian food. They still go whenever they are in NYC as do both of my brothers. It's not fancy and not expensive, just incredibly authentic and delicious Southern Italian food.
OK, pity party officially over. I never get to travel far from home right now, but guess what? I live in an incredibly beautiful, interesting place full of beautiful, interesting, kind people. (Including you.) It's a very nice place to be stuck. (Uh oh, now I have Huey Lewis and the News in my head.) Plus, I'd rather be stuck here than NYC any day! I'll miss you while you are gone, though.
In an effort to say something about food, I'll note that we went to the Columbia City Bakery after preschool today and they had 10 cinnamon twists ready to go! I bought them all.
NYC! The ultimate girls' trip, awesome! Can't wait to read your travel notes, I'm excited for you. For what it's worth, my most memorable meal in NYC was Jean-Georges for lunch. It's one of those tiny-bites-on-a-big-white-plate places, but as a humble midwestern gal, I had never experienced restaurant service and attention to detail like I did there. It was a revelation.
Yum! I just nibbled some of my mom's butternut squash and walnut risotto at a restaurant in Knoxville, so this is a taste combination I'm really into! Great idea - I'd never have thought of making a galette with these flavors! I will probably go with a traditional crust, though (a pate brise type crust), just because that's all I've had!! Conservative eater? Yep!
As far as restaurants in NYC ... I live about 45 west of the city but don't know all of the best places. Le Pain Quotidien is good (there are multiple locations in the city), West Side Brewery on 76th and Amsterdam has good homecooked food (but probably not what you want on a visit), Citron has good French food (83rd and Columbus) ... if I think of more, when my brain isn't tired and dead, I'll pass on further recommendations. I hope you have a great trip - girls trips can't be anything but fantastic!! =)
I lived in Brooklyn for 5 years (not far from The Grocery) and I absolutely agree with Julea. If you can do the trip out (it's just a short subway ride from Manhattan), The Grocery is in a great neighborhood and the food is spectacular! I think the prices are probably higher than back when they first opened, but the tasting menu is always worth it. Have fun!
Great photos. I'll have to try this at our next potluck.
I have a neighbors butternut squash that has this recipe written all over it.
Thanks for all the NYC recommendations, everyone. I wish I could tuck you all away in my suitcase.
10 cinnamon twists?! We really have to figure out how to make those.
i'm glad we only have room for ourselves, a few trashy magazines, and some spending money. oh, all those cute clothes we own too! because if we had more room, we might feel obliged to take along a family member....
anyhow, i am OVER THE MOON about going to nyc with YOU! i have my own list of recommended eats also. i can't wait!
Sarah--- Love your blog. I guess I have been a Leftoverist all along and now have a name for myself. Aside from the eating, the crafty pleasure of using up ingredients in the fridge and knowing I have been creative and thrifty makes me so happy. This recipe looks great this month and I can't wait to try it.
I love to have a few recipes on hand for different often enjoyed meals so I don't waste premium (expensive) ingredients like pricey cheeses, rare vegetables I had to hunt down, herbs, imported items (like some recently found delicious almond paste). I can feel good about the splurges when I have made many of meals from them.
Also Sarah, I remember visiting you in Bellingham during college and your family made the most delicious and beautiful food on the fly. Glad to see you are still at it!
Elenor! How wonderful to see you here! We had lots of meals together at one time in our life, didn't we? What did they call the cafeteria at Westmont? I love to picture you in your kitchen now. Maybe we'll get to share a meal again one of these days...
love this site! just happened upon it while searching for "pumpkin walnut galette." def. will be back.
I know this is an old post...but just wanted to say thanks so much for all the galette ideas. Have found a dough recipe I love, but was floundering for filling ideas, especially savory ones. You have really opened my eyes as to what can be done.
[...] Recipe courtesy of In Praise of Leftovers. Ironically, these photos are the leftovers I ate for lunch. [...]