Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette, Valentine's Day Style

This is not my year for planning ahead for holidays. I did all (all) of my Christmas shopping in the two weeks leading up to Christmas. I made my New Year's Eve plans in the hours leading up to New Years. I posted Thanksgiving recipes onto my blog the day before Thanksgiving, long after everyone had planned their menus. 

This heart-shaped tart is my attempt to get back on the right track, to be prepared for holidays as they come and to be able to share my musings about them with you. 

While it is beautiful as a round galette, that just wouldn't do for Valentine's Day. In the 30 extra seconds it took to shape this galette into a heart, I ended up with something that looked like it was planned specifically for the occasion (which it was). 

It's loaded with an entire roasted butternut squash, slowly caramelized onions and some shredded fontina cheese. The sour cream-infused crust is tender, yet it withstands the weight of all the vegetables piled inside. 

A slice of this and a nice light salad make a delicious, vegetarian-friendly Valentine's Day dinner. 

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette

recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen 

This galette yields six entree-sized servings. 

Ingredients:

Pastry: 

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup ice water

Filling:

1 small butternut squash, about 1 1/2 pounds

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 to 3 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of sugar

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

3/4 cup fontina cheese, grated

Pastry: In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Place the chopped butter in another bowl. Place both bowls in the freezer for one hour. Remove the bowls from the freezer and make a well in the center of the flour. Add the butter and cut it in using a pastry cutter (I found my butter very difficult to cut in with my strong pastry cutter and had to wait until the butter softened a bit). The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs. 

Make another well in the center In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and cold water. Add half of this mixture to the well. With your fingertips, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. Repeat with the remaining liquid. Pat the lumps together into a ball. Do not overwork the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. 

Squash: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the ends off the squash and then peel the squash. Halve the squash and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into 1/2-inch pieces. Toss the pieces with olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place on a foil-lined sheet and roast for 30 minutes, until pieces are tender. Flip the pieces halfway through. Let cool on the sheet. 

Onions: Melt butter in a heavy skillet and cook the onion over low heat with the remaining half-teaspoon of salt and a pinch of sugar. Stir the onions occasionally until they are soft and light golden brown. This took me about 45 minutes, but could be done quicker if you raised the temperature a bit. Remove from the heat. 

Assemble: Stir together squash, caramelized onions, fontina cheese and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper. 

Flour a countertop and pat the crust into a heart shape. Roll out the dough, trying to keep the heart shape as you are rolling it out. The shape does not need to be perfect. Transfer the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Spread the squash, onions and cheese mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border around the edges of the dough. I placed the squash mixture on the dough in a heart shape. It was about 1-inch thick. 

Fold the border over the squash mixture, pleating the edges to make it fit. The center will be open. 

Bake the galette until golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the galette from the onion, and let it stand for at least 5 minutes. The galette can be served hot, warm or at room temperature. 

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