7.19.2010

A Stilton and Wild Mushroom Galette

There are lots of lovely stone fruit galettes this time of year, so I have a little surprise for you: a savory galette. I had seen it quite a while ago on Smitten Kitchen and just recently made it for some guests. Deb's recipe was made with a pastry crust, but I just happened to have one sheet of puff pastry left in my freezer and I thought, why not? And I also had a package of dried morels. The only thing left to buy was some cheese and some extra mushrooms.

I hope you like the strong and tangy flavor of stilton because it really shines in this galette.  My family happens to love it and one of my guests was originally from Great Britain...he was in 7th heaven. (I made some of Ina Garten's stilton crackers for he and his wife last year and they loved those too. Must remember to post about them.)

Stilton has been made since the 1700s, and has earned a protected origin designation, which means that only Stilton meeting a set of exacting standards can be labeled and sold as Stilton. It is produced in two varieties: the well-known blue and the lesser-known white.



•There are just 6 dairies in the world licensed to make Blue Stilton cheese
•It takes 136 pints milk (78 litres) to make one 17 lb (8kg) Stilton cheese
•Over 1 million Stilton cheeses are made each year
•More than 10% of output is exported to some 40 countries world-wide

And here's an odd fact I ran across: a 2005 study carried out by the British Cheese Board claimed that when it came to dream types, Stilton cheese seemed to cause odd dreams, with 75% of men and 85% of women experiencing bizarre and vivid dreams after eating a 20-gram serving of the cheese half an hour before going to sleep. That's less than 3/4 of an ounce, not much at all. On the other hand, most of us aren't eating this right before we go to bed either.

I used three kinds of mushrooms in my galette: my reconstituted morels, some shiitakes and some baby bellas. You'll find this galette is enough for 8-10 people as it goes a long way and it packs quite a punch. A small slice is enough for each person. Besides, the smaller the piece, the easier to hold so you don't have to supply plates!



Wild Mushroom and Stilton Galette
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen,  October 19, 2006


Ingredients:
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed in the fridge overnight and rolled out to a 10 to 12" circle. Prick a fork all over the bottom, leaving a 1/2 inch around the edge.

For the filling
:

1/4 ounce dried wild mushrooms, such as morels, porcini or shiitakes

1 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup sliced green onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 lb. assorted fresh wild mushrooms, such as chanterelles, porcini and shiitakes, brushed
clean and large mushrooms thinly sliced (If these are unavailable, fill in with some button mushrooms)
5 ounces Stilton or other good-quality blue cheese

Method:
Make the filling: Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and add the boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes until softened. Drain the mushrooms and mince finely.

Preheat an oven to 400°F.


In a large fry pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the green onions and saute, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary and thyme and continue to cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Increase the heat to high, add the fresh and rehydrated mushrooms, and saute until the mushrooms are tender and the liquid they released has completely evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool.


On a floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry to a 10 to 12 inch round. Transfer to an parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Crumble the blue cheese into a bowl, add the cooled mushrooms and stir well. Spread the mixture over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border.


Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature. Serves 8-10 as an appetizer or first course, depending on the size of the slices.


65 comments:

  1. OMG, that savory galette looks incredibly scrumptious! I am drooling... Stilton is such a wonderful cheese.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. That does look amazingly rich, and moreish. I love mushrooms, and I like blue cheese but I don't think I've ever had proper Stilton before. You've inspired me now :)

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  3. Oh Barbara, where to begin with this great post. One of the speakers at Oxford was the founder of Neal's Yard. He showed us how glorious small producers make cheddar and it was incredibly interesting... got to taste it too! I am crazy about stilton and eat it whenever I can with my port. This is a great change from bread and the mushrooms must make such happy partners on the buttery crust. Really great recipe... looking forward to those Stilton crackers though... mmm they will be great with port!

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  4. Wonderful, wonderful! :)

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  5. Barbara, the galette sounds pretty cool! It must be so flavourful. I loving it as well. Yummm.... Thanks for sharing.
    Cheers, Kristy

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  6. This looks absolutely mouthwatering! I love a good Stilton...strong stinky cheeses are totally my thing. Great galette!

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  7. I adore a good blue cheese or Stilton, so I know I will love this galette. I've never met a cheese I didn't like.
    Sam

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  8. Mushrooms and cheese are my favourite foods! (or "ingredients" as my sis corrects). All that is missing is crab which is the third prize favourite.

    Must try this recipe. If I ever discover obesity, I shall blame you with affection. Peace, X.

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  9. Stilton is one of my very favorite cheeses, Barbara. I love the idea of making it into a galette! I have some gorgonzola (I know, not the same) in the fridge - my husband likes neither blue cheese or mushrooms, so it would be strictly for me - but that's not all bad. ( :

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  10. I love stilton, but only the real stuff you get in the UK, I find that the export cheese is not as good. And our own blue cheese, gorgonzola, is such a mediocre cheese compared to stilton!

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  11. We love stilton! This is wonderful...just looking at it I feel I can taste it! First time to your beautiful blog - I love the interesting facts you provide in your posts. Thank you!

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  12. i think fruit is overrated ;-) this looks fabulous!

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  13. Stunning. I was enjoying my sister's lemon bar(s) for breakfast, until I read this post. Sigh. There's nothing like a good bleu cheese...

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  14. This looks wonderful, I just love Stilton. Thanks for the cheese dream study I may try just for fun!

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  15. This is so lovely and look delicious !

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  16. This is the second post in a row that I've read using blue cheese. I love stilton and most any blue cheese. Then with the wild mushrooms...it must be amazing! I love savory tarts and galettes. Thanks for sharing this one!

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  17. HOw elegant, perfect with a nice green salad.
    Now, I am wondering how to use this stilton/weird dream thing to my advantage ;)... who should i feed this to...?
    *kisses* HH

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  18. What a heavenly combination! Elegant and rustic all at once. I adore Stilton. The thing about the dreams was so funny...what is it about Stilton that alters the mind?!

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  19. This looks amazing Barbara. Thanks for those Stilton facts, I had no idea of the standards. Nordstrom used to make a wonderful Stilton Cream Dressing that I adored. Their restaurant closed down before I could bribe the recipe out of them. And our local specialty market carries a Lemon Stilton...it's of the white variety. ohmy good.

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  20. I love Stilton but, sadly, my husband runs away from it with fear and loathing.

    Now I want to taste some just to see about the dreams :)

    Beautiful galette!

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  21. Oh my Gosh, Barbara. I've seen quite a few nice foods today, but this takes the cake. Beautiful, and my mouth is watering (it's lunch time). Oh, and I love Stilton. I love everything though...

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  22. Ah, the British bleu. Love it! And I know we'll love this recipe. Thank you for continually contributing to my on-line recipe "book".

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  23. My oh my! Three kinds of mushrooms in this galette sounds divine! Great idea with the puff pastry too.

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  24. I love this! It's like a savory pie!

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  25. This looks amazing!! Love all of the flavors.

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  26. You are such an inspirational cook Barbara. As always, I want to reach right in and try what you've created right off the screen! Fabulous recipes and luscious photographs! Thanks x

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  27. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  28. Sorry- too keen to press the 'publish' button, I hit it twice! ;-D

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  29. Oh Barbara!! My mouth is WATERING! What a gorgeous tart...so rustic, so savory, and GOSH gotta love the morels and stinky cheese in there!

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  30. Love pungent cheeses and mushrooms of any type!

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  31. That looks absolutely fantastic!! I bet the flavors were mouth watering.

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  32. i must confess that i'd steer clear of this one--i don't like stilton OR mushrooms! i'm intrigued by the notion of a savory galette, though. now, if i can somehow involve pepperjack... :)

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  33. You hit upon two of my favorite things: cheese and mushrooms. I don't think I've ever had Stilton before, but hey, if it gives me better dreams than the ones I just posted about, I'm all for it :)

    Looks like a yummy recipe, Barbara! Thanks for posting :)

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  34. Dear Barbara I love the idea of a savory galette, and I love puff pastry so... is an awasome recipe! huggs gloria

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  35. This is totally mushroom overload... But in a really good way! It looks awesome.

    Sues

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  36. oh this made me laugh. My husband tried Stilton cheese when we were in Wales, and hated it! He is not a fan of strong cheeses, but neither of us knew what Stilton was! He had it in a baguette and it almost made him sick. Later, he saw a cheese platter with stilton on it, so that he could see what it actually looked like, and you could just tell that he would never order that kind of cheese again! :) so needless to say, i will not be making this, but it does look really good!

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  37. What a gorgeous tart! If I were lucky enough to be your guest I would be impressed! And such interesting facts about the Stilton. So funny about the dreams...

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  38. Looks great and super tasty! :)

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  39. Trying Stilton is on my bucket list. This looks like a great recipe to try it with. Beautiful photo.

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  40. Wow - that Galette is positively gorgeous! What fabulous flavors too - can't wait to try it. Also very interesting about the effects of Stilton cheese on dreaming, will keep that in mind - Cheers!

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  41. Delicious flavors! Mushrooms and Stilton! Your galette looks positively fantastic! I'd need a plate because I'd want a big slice :)

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  42. So the night after you ate this, what did you dream about? ;) I loved all of the odd little factiods--who knew?

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  43. Hello there Barbara,
    I'm making this for dinner tonight. I have a wonderful cheese shop up the road and farmers market down the road and puff pastry in the freezer! So now thanks once again to your wonderful blog I can make something delicious for dinner tonight. Perfect with a salad from my garden and a bottle of wine. I can't wait.
    I also enjoyed your facts and info on the Blue Stilton cheese, which is one of my favorites. As much as I love sweet fruit Galettes, I do think I actually prefer savory and this looks and sounds amazing.
    Have a great day.
    xoxo

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  44. Thanks for the information about the Blue Stilton cheese. Interesting about the strange dreams. I want to make this but in a smaller version. What do you think?

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  45. Oh dear, next to pizza, this has to be one of my favorite things! Tender mushrooms encrusted in a perfect crust...YOWSA!!! Thank you Barb, for coming to enjoy the little enchanted white cottage that Sandra Foster has now made very famous! She is quite the lady, fashioning such charm on a budget!

    Thanks for your visit...do come again, anytime with a cup of tea or flute of pink champagne to accompany a lovely meal! Anita

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  46. Your savory galette looks amazing! I love all of the different mushrooms, with the onions and Stilton cheese - perfect!

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  47. You know what I just thought of? A galette is like a pizza!

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  48. hi Barbara
    what a beautiful galette...the stilton and mushrooms must have been heavenly!
    thanks so much for sharing
    Dennis

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  49. Barbara...you may have just explained something odd that happened a few years back. Hubby brought home a blue cheese bathing in Port from Stilton...and we devoured it with some guests. Well, from my recollection...I had a terrible sleep night...several dreams LOL...my friend too had a replica of the same thing! Could it be???
    Alright, enough of the strange phenomena craziness...your galette looks incredibly appetizing. I also get the feeling that puff pastry was probably a better choice suited to this recipe.

    Have a fab day and flavourful wishes, Claudia

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  50. Wow, this looks amazing and very sophisticated. It would be great with a nice dry white wine.

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  51. I love the mix of mushrooms and blue cheese, so this is heaven for me. I need to try making Ina's stilton crackers too!

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  52. Hi Barbara,

    This tart looks so tasty and thank you for sharing the recipe. I love anything with mushrooms.
    Do you get the show Cheese Slices? Will Studd travels all around the world and talks about unique cheeses, the series is really interesting.

    Have a great week
    Hugs
    Carolyn

    Ps Thanks for visiting me, and I also loved Winnie the Pooh and read the books to my children, when they were small. They still make me laugh.

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  53. stilton has such a nice nutty flavor - I wish I had some now.

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  54. That looks seriously good. A lovely glass of Pinot and a big slice of that mushroomy-cheesy galette would make me smile big-time. ;)

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  55. This looks delicious and all because of the Stilton it has to taste great! Wonderful galette!

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  56. Did you save me a piece? ;)

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  57. This looks like a wonderful savory galette! I love the combination of earthy wild mushrooms and a good strong cheese like stilton. Looks so good!

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  58. Mmm I love Stilton and this tart looks wonderful! And I had no idea that only 6 dairies in the world are allowed to make it! :o

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  59. This is the first savory galette I've seen. What a fabulous idea.

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  60. This makes my mouth water- I'm wanting some of this right now! We're stinky cheese lovers here, so this galette would be perfect. That dream study is interesting too...might explain those flying u-haul trailers a while back. :)

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  61. This looks wonderful. I love the combination of mushrooms with the Stilton. I have a similar recipe though it looks more like a strudel. This is really nicely done. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  62. I'll take a slice with my glass of wine.
    Mimi

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  63. The galette is gorgeous...and the extra info about Stilton is fascinating. Very curious about the bizarre dream reports...

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  64. Oh, Barbara, this looks amazing. I love stilton. Heck, I love ANY blue cheese, but Stilton is the queen, IMHO. Thanks for posting this.

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