Photo by David Tisue – A rustic and delicious butternut squash, caramelized onion and goat cheese galette perfect for the holiday season.

For the pastry

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

10.5-11 oz package goat cheese softened at room temperature, ¼ cup divided out for crust at room temperature

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

¼ cup ice water

For the filling

20 oz or about 4 cups 1” cubed and peeled butternut squash

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced in half-moons, about 2 cups

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of sugar

¼ teaspoon pepper, or to taste

¾ cup grated Compté or Gruyere cheese (about 3 ounces),

Remaining goat cheese from the package for the crust very soft at room temperature

1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves or ½ teaspoon dried

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Make pastry

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Place the chunks of butter on top of the flour in the same bowl. Place the bowl in the freezer for 1 hour.

While the flour and butter are in the freezer, whisk together the goat cheese, lemon juice, and ice water and place them in the refrigerator to keep them as cold as possible.

Remove the bowl from the freezer, and using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour, only blending until you see pea-sized chunks of butter.

Sprinkle the ice water-goat cheese mixture over the flour while fluffing with a fork to combine. Do not overwork it. The dough will seem a bit dry and crumbly, and you should see bits of butter in the dough.

Turn out onto a work surface and work it into a flat disk. As you work it together, you can smear it a bit to get it to come together, but only until it has formed a dough. The key is to still have visible chunks of butter throughout the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

The filling

While the dough is chilling: Preheat the oven to 375°.

Toss the butternut squash cubes with olive oil and a half-teaspoon of the salt on a parchment or foil-lined cookie sheet.

Roast the squash on a foil-lined baking sheet for 30 minutes or until the pieces are tender. The squash cubes should start to brown on the edges and be easily pierced with a fork.

Set aside to cool slightly.

While the squash is roasting, caramelize the onions. Melt butter in a heavy skillet and cook the onion over medium-low heat with the remaining half teaspoon salt and a pinch of sugar.

Stirring frequently, cook the onions until soft and lightly golden brown and beginning to caramelize about 35 – 45 minutes.

Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Combine the onions and the butternut squash, stir in the grated cheese, the sage, and the cayenne pepper. Raise the oven temperature to 400°.

Assemble galette

Roll the dough out on a floured work surface into a 12-inch round rough circle. It doesn’t need to be a perfect circle. Just try to get it as round as possible.

Transfer the rolled-out pastry to an ungreased baking sheet.

Spread the remaining softened goat cheese over the dough circle, leaving a 2-inch border.

Arrange the squash, onions, cheese, and herb mixture over the goat cheese, leaving the 2-inch border.

Fold the border over the squash, onion, and cheese mixture, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open.

Bake the galette for 35 to 45 minutes or until the pastry is nicely golden brown.

Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. Serves 4-8 depending on if it is a side or main course.

This Butternut Squash Galette is one of my most treasured recipes. I have made this many times over the years, and even the most ardent squash hater can be won over with this warm and inviting tart. Though it may seem it has many steps, it is actually easy to make and looks beautiful on any holiday table. The flavors of the caramelized onions and the goat cheese blend together to make an incredible flavor combination. The savory flavors and smells make your mouth water. Other than the time it takes to chill the pastry and how long it takes to caramelize the onions, this really does come together rather quickly. And you don’t need to be perfect with rolling the dough out or pleating the sides over the filling. The galette should look freeform. Even the word galette comes from old French, meaning rough pebble. Galettes are meant to be rustic and informal.

Adding goat cheese to the crust gives this pastry a wonderful tangy flavor. The secret to getting the many flakey layers for this galette is to be careful how much you work the butter into the flour. You should still see peas-sized chunks of butter. Keep everything ice cold and err on the easy side when cutting it in. It will blend more as you add the liquid and form it into a disk on the work surface. As you roll the chilled pastry out, there should still be butter smears and chunks visible. The butter pieces are what will give you all those delectable flakey layers.

I hope you try and make this butternut and caramelized onion galette. You will not be disappointed at how good this is. It is fantastic for a great dinner or side dish any time of the year, and for Thanksgiving, it is the perfect side dish.