Rustic potato and mushroom galette with spicy mountain cheese
If you're craving a savory pie and want to avoid the hassle of precisely lining a tart pan, a galette is the perfect choice. This traditional French pastry is characterized by its free-form shape. The dough is simply rolled out flat, topped with various ingredients, and the edges are loosely folded over the filling.
- 250 g flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 125 g cold butter
- 60 ml cold water
- 400 g hard-boiling potatoes
- 1 tsp salt for the cooking water
- 350 g brown mushrooms
- 1 small onion
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 100 g sour cream
- 100 g mountain cheese (grated)
- Mix the flour and salt. Cut the cold butter into cubes and briefly work it in until coarse crumbs form. Gradually add cold water and shape everything into a dough. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices. Pre-cook them in salted water for 5 minutes, drain them and let them steam dry thoroughly.
- Clean the mushrooms and slice them. Peel the onion and dice it finely.
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Fry the mushrooms over high heat for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Add the onion and fry for another 2 minutes. Season with thyme and black pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (top and bottom heat). Roll out the dough on baking paper into a circle approximately 32 centimeters in diameter and transfer it to a baking sheet.
- Spread the center with sour cream, leaving about a 5-centimeter border all around. Distribute potatoes, mushroom mixture, and mountain cheese on top.
- Fold the loose edge of the dough over the filling. Whisk together the egg and milk and brush the edge with the mixture.
- Bake the potato and mushroom galette for 35–40 minutes, until the dough is golden brown and crispy. Let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Savory galette with potatoes, mushrooms and mountain cheese
The key to a crisp crust lies in the proper preparation of the ingredients. Since the pastry browns relatively quickly in the oven, the potatoes need a head start. Slice them into even and thin slices. A mandoline slicer works perfectly for this. Then, parboil the slices in salted water for a few minutes. This ensures they will be wonderfully tender in the finished pastry. After cooking, the potatoes must drain thoroughly and be allowed to steam dry. Any excess moisture would soften the shortcrust pastry and negatively affect the baking result.
Mushrooms require similar attention. Fresh mushrooms consist largely of water. If you add them raw to the pastry base, they will release liquid during baking and soften the crust. Instead, sauté the mushrooms thoroughly in a hot pan beforehand. This evaporates the water and develops intense roasted aromas. Add fresh thyme directly to the pan so that the heat releases the herb's essential oils. A little black pepper completes the mushroom mixture.
For the creamy base, spread a layer of sour cream onto the rolled-out dough, leaving a wide border. This uncreamed edge will later form the typical rustic crust. Now layer the prepared potato slices and the sautéed mushrooms on top of the sour cream. The mountain cheese adds a strong, nutty flavor to the dish and provides the necessary seasoning. Grate it generously over the filling. It will melt beautifully in the oven and bind the individual components together.
