Apple & Caramelized Onion Galette
Every year, as summer begins to turn the corner into fall, my husband and I host a Summer Produce Party. We ask our friends to bring dishes where summer produce is the star of the show, and we have a potluck-style feast with the best of the season before it’s gone for the year.
This time, I made a galette with some farmers’ market goodies. I typically think of apples and onions as cozy-season food, but they appear at the markets in early September, which is very much summer here in Alabama.
Nevertheless, I expect I’ll make this long into fall, because the tangle of onions and chunks of apples create a nest of savory magic, and the sharpness of the cheddar makes everything sing.
I have long loved Smitten Kitchen’s Burst Tomato Galette with Corn and Zucchini, and I’ve used her pastry recipe, which needs no improving.
I’d thought I might add balsamic or lemon zest or more herbs or Dijon mustard, but it doesn’t need it. Beyond making crust and giving the onions enough time to truly collapse, this recipe fairly fuss-free (we’re not even peeling the apples), and I hope it finds a home in your recipe book.
Apple & Caramelized Onion Galette with White Cheddar
INGREDIENTS
Pastry
1 ¼ cups (160 grams) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon fine sea or table salt
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
¼ cup (60 grams) plain yogurt or sour cream
2 teaspoons (10 ml) lemon juice
¼ cup (60 ml) cold water
Filling:
2 Tablespoons butter
2 sweet white onions, halved and thinly sliced
1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
red pepper flakes to taste
3 small firm apples, roughly chopped
4 ounces sharp white cheddar, shredded
DIRECTIONS:
Pastry (via Smitten Kitchen):
Whisk the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Sprinkle bits of butter over dough and using a pastry blender or your fingertips, work it into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with the biggest pieces of butter the size of tiny peas. Add sour cream, lemon juice and water to the butter-flour mixture and combine with a flexible spatula or spoon until large clumps form. Pat the lumps into a ball. Wrap with plastic or a large piece of parchment paper and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, until firm, or up to 4 days, if planning ahead.
Filling and Assembly:
Heat butter in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Add onions, salt, and 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. This helps speed the caramelization process. When the water has all evaporated, lower the heat to medium-low and keep an eye on the onions until they are golden and collapsing. This might take 45 minutes to an hour. Keep an eye on them, scraping regularly
Add thyme, red pepper flakes, and chopped apples. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often to keep the onions from over-cooking, until the apples have released some of their juices. Remove from heat and mix in the white cheddar. Taste for salt and let the filling cool. It can rest in the refrigerator overnight, if planning ahead
Heat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured counter, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round; it doesn’t need to be perfectly round. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and spoon the apple mixture into the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold the border over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the galette from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before transferring it to your serving plate. Cut it into wedges and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
NOTES:
Use whatever apples you have, but I think tart-firm varieties will be best here. Think Granny Smith or Pink Lady, but I think Honeycrisp would be great as well.
Same for onions. I love the way red onions taste when they caramelize, but if you only have white or yellow onions, go for it. This is not meant to be fussy.
