Recipes › Squash & Pumpkin › Squash and Gruyère Galette with Thyme
Squash and Gruyère Galette with Thyme
A rustic free-form pastry tart filled with thin-sliced squash layered over a smear of crème fraîche and buried under melted Gruyère and fresh thyme. The pastry is rough and golden-edged, the filling rich and slightly sweet, and the whole thing looks far more impressive than the effort involved justifies. It is the sort of thing to make on a Saturday when you have an hour and want something that feels genuinely celebratory.
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Ingredients
- 750 g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and very thinly sliced, about 3mm thickacorn squash or red kuri squash work equally well
- 200 g plain flour
- 125 g cold unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes
- 50 ml ice-cold water
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 150 g full-fat crème fraîche
- 120 Gruyère cheese, coarsely gratedComté or mature Cheddar are good substitutes
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 8 fresh thyme, leaves pickeddried thyme works at half the quantity
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
- 1 pinch black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Contains: cereals gluten, eggs, milk.
Method
- Make the pastry. Tip the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles rough breadcrumbs — do not overwork it, visible flakes of butter are fine. Drizzle in the ice-cold water a little at a time, mixing with a table knife until the dough just comes together. Flatten into a disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.About 10 min
- Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Toss the thinly sliced squash in a bowl with the olive oil, crushed garlic, thyme leaves, a good pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg.About 5 min
- Mix the crème fraîche with half the grated Gruyère and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small bowl to make the base layer.About 2 min
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled pastry out into a rough circle approximately 35cm across and 3mm thick. Transfer to a large baking tray lined with baking paper — the edges will overhang, that is fine.About 5 min
- Spread the crème fraîche and Gruyère mixture over the pastry, leaving a 4cm border all the way around. Arrange the seasoned squash slices over the top in overlapping concentric circles or rough overlapping layers. Scatter the remaining Gruyère over the squash.About 5 min
- Fold the pastry border up and over the edge of the filling, pleating as you go to form a rough crust. Press gently to help it hold its shape. Brush the folded pastry border all over with the beaten egg.About 3 min
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the pastry is deep golden and the squash is completely tender and lightly caramelised at the edges. Leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before sliding onto a board and cutting into wedges. Serve warm.About 45 min
Tips
- The key to a crisp base is a very hot oven and not overloading the filling. Keep the squash layer no more than two slices deep in most places.
- Use a mandoline or the slicing disc of a food processor to get the squash thin enough. Hand-sliced chunks over 5mm thick will not cook through in time and can make the pastry soggy.
- Resting the finished galette for 5 minutes before cutting is important — it firms up the filling and makes clean wedges much easier to achieve.
Ring the changes
- Add 4 rashers of crisped-up streaky bacon, crumbled over the squash before the final cheese layer, for a smoky, savoury twist.
- Scatter 30g of toasted pine nuts over the top for the final 10 minutes of baking for extra texture and richness — this will add a nut allergen.
Keeping it
Keep leftovers wrapped in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat on a baking tray at 180°C fan for 12 minutes to revive the pastry. The galette does not freeze well once baked.
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