Butternut Squash, Basil & Tomato Galette (Rustic Pie)

Search

Butternut Squash, Basil & Tomato Galette (Rustic Pie)

This delicious pie is simpler to make than you might think. A crunchy and flavoursome crust with a sweet golden veg filling. Recipe created by the fantastic Melissa Saint Hill - nutritionist, scientist and chef. 

Ingredients

• Half a medium butternut squash (pumpkin or other quash work just as well)
• 175 grammes flour (spelt, wholemeal or plain work very well) – plus a little extra to work the dough when rolling
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup dried mixed herbs (plus extra to taste)
• 40 grammes vegan butter
• ½ cup water
• 250 – 300 grammes cherry / plum tomatoes (a punnet should be enough. You can also use larger tomatoes, of which approximately 3 – 4 medium vine / salad tomatoes would suffice.)
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp either olive oil / rapeseed oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (plus extra to taste)
• Pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C  (Gas Mark 6).
2. Peel, rinse and chop butternut squash into pieces no bigger than 2 centimeters and space out on a lined medium baking tray. Cook for about 10 - 15  minutes until a fork can only just pierce the flesh.
3. Whilst the squash is roasting, mix flour,1/4 teaspoon salt, fresh basil, 1/4 cup dried mixed herbs and butter to form a dough. I always have a little water on hand to sprinkle over the dough to loosen if necessary or conversely a little more flour if the dough forms and is too sticky.
4. Once the dough has formed and you have lightly kneaded it to the point where it stretches well, form into a ball and wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, remove the squash from the oven and leave to one side. Prepare the tomatoes. Coarsely chop the onion and mince the garlic.
6. Remove the dough from the fridge and add a little more flour to the outside of the dough ball. An easy / lazy trick I have is to roll out the dough into a circle but actually on the parchment paper so that it is easier to transfer the whole galette to the baking tray when you have finished constructing it without it breaking. The trick to the galette not breaking is to make sure the dough is not too dry but also not too moist and most importantly not rolled out too thinly. I recommend not rolling thinner than 0.5 cm, especially towards the edges.
7. Add the squash, tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic and onion to the middle of the dough and fill all the way, leaving approximately 1 inch of dough around the entire galette to leave you enough space to fold the dough back on itself. Season to taste with salt, pepper and mixed herbs.
8. Once the fillings are on the dough, fold the perimeter of the dough back in on itself to close the edges of the pie. You can be as fancy or as simple as you wish. Place the galette onto the baking tray and drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil into the filling. Place in the middle of the oven and cook for approximately 40 minutes or until the pastry is golden, firm and cooked and the tomatoes and squash are soft. If the vegetables start to brown too much, you can always reduce the heat and increase the time or tent the pie with foil.
9. Upon removing the cooked galette from the oven, take a pastry brush and conservatively brush the other tablespoon of olive oil around the pie crust to keep it moist but crunchy and to bring out the golden shine.

Recipe and Photo: Melissa Saint Hill