Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette

This recipe is from Smitten Kitchen. I had some left-over lactose-free sour cream, so I decided that this was the perfect recipe to use it up. I knew I would like it because caramelized onions and butternut squash go so well together, and squash is usually a hit with the Little Prince. Luckily, the Engineer approved as well! The galette makes about 4 to 6 small servings. I served it with pomelo couscous, since I had a huge pomelo left over after making pomelo bars.

For the crust
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¼ cup lactose-free sour cream
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
¼ cup ice water

For the filling
1 small butternut squash (about 1 lb.)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 to 2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced in half-moons
1 tsp. salt, divided
1 pinch of sugar
¼ tsp. cayenne, or to taste (I used a pinch of Korean pepper)
¾ cup fontina cheese (about 2 ½ oz.), grated (I used lactose-free swiss cheese)
1 ½ tsp. chopped fresh sage leaves

For the crust
In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Place the butter in another bowl. Place both bowls in the freezer for 1 hour. Remove the bowls from the freezer and make a well in the center of the flour. Add the butter to the well and, using a pastry blender, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Make another well in the center. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add half of this mixture to the well. With your fingertips, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Remove the large lumps and repeat with the remaining liquid and flour-butter mixture. Pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (I must admit that I did not have the patience for this and instead made the dough the “regular” way: I mixed the flour and salt in the food processor, added cold butter, then the sour cream and lemon juice, then ice water until it held together. I put it in the fridge to rest, then followed the remainder of the recipe.)

For the filling
Preheat oven to 375 °F. Peel squash, then halve and scoop out seeds. Cut into a ½-inch dice. Toss pieces with olive oil and a half-teaspoon of the salt and roast on foil lined (for neatness sake) sheet for 30 minutes or until pieces are tender, turning it midway if your oven bakes unevenly. Set aside to cool slightly.

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, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir in cayenne.

Raise the oven temperature to 400 °F. Mix squash, caramelized onions, cheese and herbs together in a bowl.

On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Spread squash, onions, cheese and herb mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 ½-inch border. Fold the border over the squash, onion and cheese mixture, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open.

Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.