Roast squash, mascarpone and crispy sage galette - part 1

Roast Squash, Mascarpone and Crispy Sage Gallette

SERVES 4

Pastry Notes

• Put all your equipment in the freezer first
• Cold hands and a cold surface are key
• Don't overwork it or it will be tough
• Add ice to your pastry water - you want it to be very cold
• Polenta brings texture to the pastry

Preheat your oven to 220C/ 200C Fan

For the pastry

• 130g of plain flour
• 20g quick cook polenta
• ½ a tsp of flaked sea salt
• 6 sage leaves, finely chopped
• A few sprigs of thyme, picked and finely chopped
• 20g gruyere or cheddar - grated
• 80g unsalted butter

For the filling

• 1 small squash (about 800g)
• Olive oil
• 6 sprigs of sage
• 6 sprigs of thyme
• 1 unwaxed lemon
• 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds, bashed
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 1 tbsp of maple syrup/honey
• 4 heaped tbsps of goats curd or mascarpone
• 1 large organic free-range egg

To top

• 1 handful of toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
• A handful of sage, leaves picked
• Butter

Instructions

For the pastry, put the flour, polenta, cheddar, herbs and salt into a mixing bowl or a food processor with a good grind of black pepper. Add the butter and use your fingers to flake it into the flour. If you are using a processor, then pulse slowly until you have coarse breadcrumbs. You don't want to overwork the dough. Add 40-50ml of iced water and mix it with your hands or in the processor until it comes together. Make it into a flat round and cover it and chill it for 30 mins.

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Onto the squash. Half, deseed and slice into ½ cm slices. Add the sliced squash to a tray with a good splash of olive oil, half of the sage and thyme, the zest of the lemon and the bashed coriander seeds. Cut the lemon in half and add it to the tray too. Nestle the whole bulb of garlic on the tray. Roast the lot in the hot oven for 25-30 mins until the squash is golden at the edges and the garlic is soft. Set it aside to cool.

Once cool, squeeze the garlic into a small mixing bowl with a couple of pieces of the squash (removing any hard bits of skin). Then mash them together, add the mascarpone to the bowl with the rest of the chopped herbs and mix well.

Squeeze the juice from half the roasted lemon into a small bowl with honey or maple syrup and mix.

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Now build your galette. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Roll out your pastry on a lightly floured board into a 30cm disc and put this on the prepared baking tray.

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Spoon the mascarpone mixture into the centre of the pastry, leaving a 4cm space around the edge. Top with the pieces of squash. Then fold over the pastry to cover the edge of the filling. Brush the pastry edge with the beaten egg. Drizzle the lemon and maple syrup mixture over the squash and bake for 30 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

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Serve the galette warm, topped fried sage leaves and the chopped hazelnuts on top for extra texture.