Mushroom & Blue Cheese Galette

Have you ever donned a beret, smudged your eyeliner, put on a some red lipstick and pretended to be French? Strolling along the imaginary river Seine while nibbling at a baguette topped with some stinky cheese. Or perhaps your fantasies veer more towards the cheeky Italian type - your Vespa snaking through the streets on your way to meet your Italian Stallion.

After the last World Cup game I'd be willing to bet that quite a few people have abandoned their French and Italian flights of fantasy in favour of cracking open a bottle of rioja to celebrate Spain's World Cup win. And, even though I backed the Netherlands (my backup team since Germany was cheated out of the World Cup by that octo-douche octopus), after seeing the overjoyed Spanish crowd a part of me wished I was one of them.

But, in the grand scheme of things, Spain still only took second place in the World Cup of Awesomeness. The crown sits squarely on the heads of all South Africans, who not only hosted the games with great aplomb (to the astonishment of all the nay-sayers - booyah!) but banded together to display a national pride that quite honestly blew my mind. And left me feeling warm and fuzzy, if you'll permit me an extra helping of cheese. For one month, all our differences were forgotten amidst the paaaarp of the vuvuzelas and the numerous "so wave your flag" choruses. And I sincerely hope that now that it is officially no longer here, we will still wave our proverbial flags, clutched firmly to our hearts.

(All this if course has absolutely nothing to do with this buttery crispy pastry shell encasing an assortment of mushrooms and stinky cheese, but hell, I think this is one of the only times I'll be able to get away with such a gloriously off-topic patriotic moment. Make this galette tough - it'll make your heart swell with pride too).

I am submitting this to Weekend Herb Blogging #242, which will be hosted by Susan from The Well-Seasoned Cook this week.

Mushroom & Blue Cheese Galette

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

(Original source Williams-Sonoma Seasonal Celebration Series, Autumn)

Makes 8 slices

For the pastry:
1 1/4 cups white bread flour
1/4 tsp salt
125g (1 stick) cold butter
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:
30g (1 oz) dried wild mushrooms (I used oyster)
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp minced garlic
250g (approx 1/2 lb) white button mushrooms, sliced
250g (approx 1/2 lb) brown mushrooms, sliced
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
4 spring onions, sliced into rings
pinch black pepper
pinch of salt
125 g blue cheese

1. Place flour, salt and butter in a bowl and, using your fingertips, work butter into flour, until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
2. Mix sour cream, lemon juice and ice water together. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour the liquid into the formed hole. Carefully mix, until just combined (do not overwork the dough), then form into a rough ball, cover and refrigerate for an hour.
3. To make the filling: Cover dried mushrooms with boiling water and allow to rehydrate - this will take approximately 30 minutes. Drain and chop finely.
4. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium  heat, then add garlic, button mushrooms, brown mushrooms and rosemary. Saute until the mushrooms start to soften, then add spring onions, salt and pepper. Increase heat and cook until all the liquid coming off the mushrooms have evaporated.
5. Add the re-hydrated mushrooms and mix to combine. Set aside to cool slightly.
6. Meanwhile, roll dough out onto a floured surface into a rough circle. about 30 cm (12 inch) in diameter. Transfer to a baking sheet (or you can just use heavy duty foil as I do - less washing up!).
7. Crumble the blue cheese into the cooled mushrooms, stir to combine, then spread onto the dough, leaving a 5 cm (1 1/2 inch) border. Fold the edges of the dough in over the filling, pleating to make it fit (the center should be open).
8. Place in the oven and bake for 35 - 45 minutes, or until golden brown. If necessary, brush with milk about 5 minutes before you take the galette out of the oven to ensure browning of the pastry. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for about 5 minutes (this allows the pastry to harden and firm up), then serve.