Caramelized Onion and Sweet Potato Galette

You all know that I'm a bit galette obsessed. After my last galette, I told myself I would hold off on baking them for a few months. But the time has finally to reignite the flame. The galette is back bb. 

I love galettes because they are pretty easy to make, but look and taste super impressive. They also require very few ingredients and are really versatile — perfect for slow weekends, dinner parties and pandemics.

This galette is a riff on one of my favorite recipes ever, my Spring Vegetable, Harissa and Mascarpone Galette. I included mascarpone in this recipe as well because I think it adds an amazing richness to the crust. If you don’t have mascarpone, feel free to leave it out or sub for cream cheese.

Instead of using harissa to flavor the mascarpone, I opted for caramelized onions and parmesan cheese. I also used only sweet potatoes for the primary filling instead of a medley of spring vegetables. If you can’t find sweet potatoes, you could experiment using other vegetables, like butternut or acorn squash or yellow potatoes, in their place.

Let me know what you think of the recipe and don't forget to follow the sustainability tips below!

Time: 4 hours

Serves: About 6

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 cup whole wheat flour

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter

• 1/4 cup ice water

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

Filling

• 2 medium onions

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 2 large sweet potatoes

• 1 cup mascarpone

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

• 1 teaspoon salt

Steps

For the dough

1. Whisk together the flours and salt in a medium bowl. Cut the cold butter into small cubes and then add them to the bowl with your flour mixture. Then, using your fingers or a pastry cutter or knife, rub or cut the butter into the flour until only pea-sized pieces of butter remain.

2. Combine your ice water and lemon juice in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup. While stirring the flour mixture with a fork, slowly pour in the water mixture. When the mixture starts to come together, take it out of the bowl and use your hands to form it into a disk. Don't worry if it's crumbly, it's supposed to be that way. Wrap the dough disk in bees wrap or a large tea towel. Let the dough disk chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to 48 hours. One hour before you want to cook the galette, start prepping the fillings. 

For the Filling

1. Caramelize the onions. To do this, chop the onions into 1/8-inch thick half-moons. Then, place 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is bubbling, add 1/4 of the onion slices. Continuing stirring until onions are almost translucent, about 1-2 minutes. Add another 1/4 of the onions. Repeat stirring and adding onions until all the onions are in the skillet. 

2. Add a pinch of salt and turn the heat down to medium-low. Saute, stirring every five minutes, until onions are deep brown, about 30 minutes. Remove onions from heat and set aside to cool.

3. Peel the sweet potatoes and use a mandolin to slice into 1/8-inch thick rounds. Toss with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil or melted butter and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the mascarpone, parmesan and salt to taste. Set aside.

Putting it all together

1. After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 400 F. Set the dough on a piece of compostable parchment paper the size of a large baking pan. Use a rolling pin to wack it and roll it until it's 1/8 inch thick. I like to make mine into a circle-ish shape, but feel free to go wild. Just make sure it will fit on a baking pan. If your dough cracks, just tear some dough from another spot and patch it up — galettes aren't meant to be perfect.

2. Once rolled out, carefully transfer the parchment paper and dough to a large baking sheet. Spread the mascarpone mixture in an even layer on the surface of the dough, leaving about 1 1/2 inches around the edges of the galette. Spoon the onions in an even layer on top of the mascarpone. Then, arrange the sweet potatoes in an even layer on top of the onions. Don't be afraid to pile them high because they will shrink down as they bake. Carefully fold over the edges of the galette and press them together to seal. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown. Top with fresh herbs and flaky salt and dig in!

Sustainability Tips

• Flours: I like King Arthur brand flours because King Arthur is a B Corp! That means they hold themselves to super high environmental and human rights standards. Yay!

• Butter and mascarpone: Since dairy is terrible for the environment, buy your butter and mascarpone from a brand that gives back. I like to buy my dairy from brands that are B Corps, which means they are held to high environmental and social standards.

• Vegetables: Make this dish in winter or early spring because that is when all the produce in this dish are in season. For maximum sustainability, buy organic and as locally as possible. This will ensure that your vegetables and lemon don’t contribute to pesticide contamination or excessive greenhouse gas emissions during travel.