Christmas

Leek, Fennel and Mushroom Galette

by:
January  6, 2013
5
7 Ratings
Leek, Fennel and Mushroom Galette
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 6-8
Author Notes

This rustic tart makes the most out of sauteed mushrooms, leeks, and fennel. The combination of the three is beyond symbiotic and with a bit of cheese to tie it down to the crust, it makes a delicious tart filling. The crust I use is a basic pate brisee, but I've also made it using frozen puff pastry. Both work well, but the pate brisee version is a bit more substantial. In either case, serve this with a green salad for a lovely Winter supper. —Waverly

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: Waverly is a former lawyer and a current cook based in Texas.
WHAT: An earthy, substantial galette you can call a meal.
HOW: Whip up a pate brisee, fill it with glorious vegetables, and bake.
WHY WE LOVE IT: This galette has enough wintry vegetables tucked inside to justify eating pastry for dinner. With a zippy, brightly dressed salad and a glass of wine, we can see ourselves savoring this long after the snow starts to melt. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • For the pate brisee:
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon ice water
  • For the filling:
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  • 16 ounces baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons white wine
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 fennel bulb, washed, trimmed and, bulb finely chopped
  • 2 large leeks, washed, trimmed, and cut in half lengthwise and sliced cross-wise into 1/4-inch half moons
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
  • 1/3 cup grated Fontina cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon chopped mixed olives
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
Directions
  1. MAKE THE CRUST DOUGH IN A FOOD PROCESSOR: Place the flour, sugar, and salt into the food processor and pulse a few times to mix. Add the bits of butter and pulse until the butter is mixed into the flour so that it resembles a coarse meal. Whisk the egg with the ice water and pour into the food processor a little bit at a time, pulsing once after each addition. You don't want to overwork the dough. Pour the dough out onto a counter and roll it into a ball. Again, don't overwork the dough. Now, flatten it with your hands into a small disk; wrap in plastic and chill for at least 3 hours.
  2. SAUTE THE MUSHROOMS: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. When the butter is bubbling and beginning to brown, add the mushrooms and sauté. They will release liquid as they cook. Cook until this liquid has evaporated from the pan and the mushrooms begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute more. Add the white wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits as you stir, allowing the wine to evaporate. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper to taste and remove the pan from the heat.
  3. SAUTE THE LEEKS AND FENNEL: In another large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. When the butter begins to bubble and turn brown, add the fennel, leeks, and shallot. Sauté until soft and beginning to brown, about 10-15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. ROLL OUT THE DOUGH; FILL IT; AND BAKE: Place the disc of dough between two sheets of wax paper and roll it out into a rough 1/4-inch thick square or circle. A galette is supposed to look rustic, so don't concern yourself too much with the shape. Transfer the dough to a buttered baking sheet. Leaving a 2-inch border, sprinkle the dough with the Fontina cheese. Mix the mushrooms and leek mixture together in one of the skillets. Pour the vegetables into the center of the galette and spread out into an even layer, leaving the 2-inch border. Fold the edges over. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese, olives, and thyme leaves. Place in the center of the oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.
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Waverly
Waverly used to be a lawyer and is now a mother 24/7. She has made a commitment to cooking for her family and absolutely loves it even when her family does not. She is teaching them, one meal at a time, to enjoy wholesome homemade food. She abhors processed food but recognizes its insidious nature and accepts the fact that her children will occasionally get some Skittles, Doritos, or the like. Her philosophy and hope is that if she teaches them well at home, they will prefer wholesome healthy foods when they go out into the world without her.

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36 Reviews

cj
cj February 20, 2021
DELICIOUS! I prefer my classic Pate Brisee (Julia Child) for the crust and 1/3 cup of cheese is not enough. Used 1 Cup Fontina Cheese and 1/4 cup chopped Kalamata Olives.
Skipped the thyme and sprinkled with shredded fresh Basil just before serving. Made it in a tart pan with crust rolled thin and added pastry cut-out shapes (about 1/2" thick) on top all around the edges. It was sooo good!
 
Isabel
Isabel September 18, 2020
Just made this recipe and gosh.....was it very scrummy! Followed the recipe pretty much as given, however, used ready made store bought pastry. I did, though, use other sorts of cheeses - living in the land of cheese, The Netherlands for a variety, but the result of a real pleasure. Many thanks for a lovely meal! Definitely making this again.
 
Mae
Mae October 23, 2019
I just made this and it is great! I will definitely make it again. The only ingredients I changed were the non vegan ones - I used vegan subs for all of them. Many reviewers say there was too much filling for the crust. I did not have this problem, but it did look like it might be too much at first! I wonder if those people just assumed it was too much and didn't try to add it all. I will say I think it serves more like 4 and not 6 - 8. My only regret is rolling the dough between two pieces of wax paper as the recipe states - the paper stuck HORRIBLY to the dough! I had to scrape it off in little pieces bit by bit with my finger nails. I usually roll out pie crusts on parchment paper on a damp counter top (stops the paper from sliding around) and some flour on top of the dough. I wish I did that with this recipe, but now I know never to use wax paper like this again!
 
nika
nika April 11, 2020
What vegan subs did you use?
 
frizz
frizz April 1, 2018
Made this tonight and found the dough too dry and crumbly. Rolling it was a nightmare. It definitely needed more water. I've never seen a dough with only 1tsp of water, egg or not. I'll use the filling again but will use a tried-and-true crust.
 
Jenny
Jenny July 7, 2016
Also, this was the first galette pastry that I have seen with an egg in it, I think it added the crumbliness, rather flaky crust.
 
Jenny
Jenny July 6, 2016
This was such a great way to make my picky eater boyfriend eat celery, fennel, and leeks. I put Gruyere instead of fontina just because we love love love Gruyere and uped the mushrooms. Such a crumbly crust, we ate fast and messily. Definitely make again with more types of veggies
 
bobby
bobby April 8, 2016
Not necessary to 'blind' bake the galette?
 
rocombo
rocombo February 14, 2016
Delicious recipe! I read the comments and decided to double the dough recipe and double the cheese. It worked out perfectly.
 
Megan
Megan November 6, 2015
I love this recipe!!! I use the puff pastry, and it's amazing (can't even imagine the homemade stuff!). Substitutions I've made: anise for fennel, goat cheese for fontina (putting Parmesan on the bottom). I use the same skillet, and it's great (just set the mushrooms in a bowl while you cook leeks, etc.). Love it even more when I cut the pastry into quarters and make minis so I have lunch the next day!
 
Beth
Beth January 2, 2015
This was delicious! I doubled the dough ingredients based on previous comments about the size, and the result would definitely serve 6-8 people. I also doubled the cheese and used half fontina and half gruyere (one-third cup of each), and I doubled the Parmesan cheese but didn't use all of it. Olives added a nice flavor (doubled that quantity too).
Thanks for a great recipe!
 
krystine
krystine November 22, 2014
I havled the filling recipe but kept the same amount of crust and it was perfect. I also added crumbled bacon, yum!
 
msmely
msmely November 6, 2014
I also definitely had too much filling but my leeks were MASSIVE and I suspect that had a lot to do with it. The edge of the crust was more of a suggestion than an actual border because I had easily over 2" of filling in an even layer all around. Still delicious and will make it again with a few adjustments.
 
JBF O.
JBF O. October 17, 2014
Made this with store bought pastry dough, left out the olives and used half shiitakes and half criminis. Also Gruyere on the bottom. I would cut back on the butter next time but it came out beautifully and delish! Will def make again?
 
sevenfaces
sevenfaces October 11, 2014
I had to really put my back into rolling out this pastry thin and wide enough to accommodate all the ingredients, but I did it! I let it thaw a bit before rolling, then rolled it in between a Silpat and the cling film I had wrapped it in, was totally fine. To anyone thinking of skipping the olives - don't! Or at least substitute them with something else to give the creamy mushroom/leek/cheese filling a counterpoint. Delicious :)
 
AnnaChris
AnnaChris March 23, 2014
This was a fun weekend recipe that produced very satisfying results. I took some liberties with the recipe. I subbed whole wheat flour for half of the white, and my pâté brisee needed an extra tablespoon of water to come together. I sauteed all the vegetables together in one pan to avoid dirtying two, and I thought it worked just fine like that. I already had my doubts about the filling to crust ratio when I was reading the ingredients, and as I suspected there was WAY too much filling (this wasn't a problem as we happily piled the extras on crackers as our appetizer). I rolled the crust as thin as possible but it was still only about 7 inches in diameter once I folded up the sides. This ended up being preferable, since it was just two of us eating the galette, but it would have been unfortunate if I had been counting on 6-8 portions. The end result was hearty, cheesy and delicious - my only minor complaint is that I thought the crust could use a tad more salt to enhance its flavor.
 
Swiss M.
Swiss M. March 20, 2014
I made this recipe the other night with 2 changes - I subbed gruyere for the fontina and used whole wheat flour for the crust. Overall it turned out great - wonderful flavor. There is too much filling for the crust, so I didn't use it all. I rolled my crust out very thin as well so as to maximize surface space. I had to let it thaw a bit after refrigerating for 3 hours to be pliable enough, and I used 2 pieces of parchment paper sprayed with nonstick spray to roll it out. That way it did not stick at all. My husband love it!
 
Swiss M.
Swiss M. March 20, 2014
loved it, that is!
 
Laurelb
Laurelb March 14, 2014
Can't wait to try this.
 
katepeele
katepeele March 13, 2014
My sister in law just made this for us and it was out of this world!! wow! savored every bite, such complementary flavors!! The Olives were a great touch! We talked about how great the Pate Brise was and how this same crust would be fabulous with all kinds of ingredients...pears, berries...savory and sweet! Endless Galettes!! Thanks for creating such a tasty treat!
 
Lyn C.
Lyn C. March 11, 2014
Made this for dinner tonight. It was very tasty and easy to make. I made pastry yesterday, removed it from refrigerator while preparing rest then easily rolled it out between sheets of parchment paper. After assembling galette to lift onto baking sheet with under- lying parchment sheet.
 
Linda
Linda March 2, 2014
This was a nightmare of a recipe! This "mess" is in the oven now and it's only about 7-8 inches in diameter. Whip up a pâté brisee, yeah right! I followed all the instructions and even chilled the dough for over 3 hours and the dough stuck all over the waxed paper! I couldn't peel all of it off. I ended up with an itty bitty piece of dough that I ended up adding flour to and rolling out in between parchment paper. Then I had a mile high amount of leeks and mushrooms. Hopefully it won't ooze out all over my oven. If it does I guess I'll have to whip up some pasta and serve the filling over that. Like my husband says " Good thing he's not a picky eater!"
 
Zack J.
Zack J. May 24, 2014
Practice makes prefect.
 
Erika H.
Erika H. March 9, 2015
Point taken, Zack, but this site is for novices as well as for know-it-alls. I was one who needed practice, but I didn't find this a "nightmare." I could have used a bit of guidance on what to do when the dough is too dry -- and it was, for me and others who commented. So perhaps a few tips or references either here or in the comments would be nice. I used a Martha Stewart video -- mock if you like -- only bc I wanted to see what the dough should look like and that was the first video to come up on a Google search. I do have to learn to work with pie dough. This was a two-day practice and experience for me. So, resources would be very much appreciated. I did not have too much filling, but then, I could have rolled the dough too thin. I think it's worth the effort again, but I hope to god that I've got the technique down and it will go much more quickly for me.