Passport & Plate - Camille the Galette, a tribute to the onion
Canada | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 4 photos
Ingredients
Camille the Galette
Drunkenly Braised Pearl Onions with a Thyme Caramelized Onion Bacon Cream Cheese Galette
Galette dough:
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
½ cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
½ tsp salt
¼ cup buttermilk
¼ cup cold water
1 egg, for egg wash
In a large bowl mix together flour and salt. Mix in the butter with your hands, quickly but thoroughly until the butter is almost all broken down and the mixture is crumbly. Add water and buttermilk, mix just to combine, form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and flatten dough. Refrigerate for one hour at least before baking. Dough can also be made ahead of time and freezes well.
Galette filling:
125 grams full-fat cream cheese
5 slices double smoked thick bacon
2 medium sized onions
8 sprigs of thyme
40 red pearl onions
½ cup white wine
2 cups vegetable stock
Olive oil
1 tbsp butter
Salt, to taste
1 scallion, sliced into slivers
How to prepare this recipeStep one. Cry and Meditate.
Peel all pearl onions. Yes, you are probably going to cry, but don’t think of this step as a nuisance but as a meditation, to just work with your hands and let your mind drift.
Step two. Sear
Once all the onions are peels. Preheat oven to 350. Heat a medium sized cast iron skillet to high heat, add enough olive to lightly cover the bottom of the pan, when the pan is close to smoking, add onions. Sauté, and brown all over, about five minutes, tossing frequently. Deglaze pan with white wine, once some wine has evaporated, add vegetable stock and butter, bring to a boil, season with salt. Once boiling, put pan in the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until onions are tender.
Step three. Sweat and Sweeten.
Caramelized Onions: Meanwhile while the pearl onions are braising in the oven. Slice the onions very thinly, heat olive in a medium sized pan over medium heat. Add onions and season with salt and add two whole sprigs of thyme. Let onions gently, and slowly cook over low heat until completely tender, and caramelized. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
Step four. Crisp up.
Cut sliced bacon into a small dice. Cook over medium high heat until desired crispiness. Set aside.
Step five. Unite.
In a small mixing bowl mix cream cheese with bacon, caramelized onion and six
sprigs of chopped thyme.
Step six. Assemble and Bake.
Roll out the chilled dough with a small amount flour as needed to an approximately nine inch diameter. Spread the cream cheese bacon mixture on the bottom of the galette, top with the braised pearl onions. Fold the border over the onions, pleating the edge to make it fit. The centre will be open. Brush with dough with egg wash.
Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven. Serve hot or at room temperature. To garnish, sprinkle slivered scallions on top, optional. Serves six people, best served with a green salad.
The story behind this recipeI have decided to share this onion galette recipe because it has a very special meaning to me. It is one of the first recipes my business partner, Erica and I created together. Erica and I met working together in the kitchen, our working relationship was brief but our friendship continued on. Two years later we had an idea and made a plan to create The Galette Girls.
Camille the galette was created on a cold winter day in my apartment. Our starting point was an idea of doing a triple onion cream. I like to think of this recipe as a tribute to the onion. Onions are an amazing vegetable, they provide flavour that is both sweet and savoury and are by far the most versatile vegetable that can pair with anything, all fishes, meats and seafoods. Also onions are the most universal vegetable, as they are the base in almost cuisines all over the world. Egyptians worshiped them as a symbol of eternity referring to the endless ring structure and they were also seen as a symbol of the universe. Onions are what bring and hold so many dishes together. This galette celebrates the onion and decidedly so gives the onions wine to let loose and celebrate their greatness.
The cream cheese adds richness to the galette and bacon, do I really need to say anything besides… bacon. The smokiness of the bacon adds another layer of flavour. While the t adds both freshness and depth. Thyme is my favourite herb because it goes with almost anything, it is an herb that is always kept in my fridge and growing in my windows sill.
Serving this dish always provides interesting results, for those who more open to food, are immediately excited but for those who are bit more timid when trying new foods, we have to give some encouragement to try. But as soon as they take their first bite, they are sold.
When making this recipe and any recipe, always remember a recipe is a guideline, and up for your interpretation. Always adjust to your cooking skills and experience and to your palate.
