The galette gets its name from the French term “galet,” a flat, weathered pebble. Thanks to its imperfectly round, flush shape and touch of graininess, the moniker “galette” has stuck. Yet, there is nothing rock hard or bland about this rustic tart. It is instead a quick and delicious baked good, one perfect for dinner or dessert.

Versatile tart

How versatile is a galette? You can stuff it with savory ingredients, including meats, cheeses, herbs, vegetables and/or nuts and serve it as an appetizer or main course. Prefer the sweeter side of baking? You can fill it with fresh fruit, preserves or chocolate and offer it as dessert. You can also make galette des rois, a king or Twelfth Night Cake. Originally, this galette contained only flour, sugar, butter, and eggs and a bean hidden inside. If you’re feeling really decadent, take your sweet galette, top it with plain Greek yogurt and serve it at breakfast. Versatile indeed!

Make it with mushrooms

Because I’m a sucker for mushrooms, I tend to fill the dough of my savory galettes with a medley of sautéed oyster, cremini, button and, when available, chanterelle mushrooms. This combination pairs beautifully with such herbs as parsley, rosemary, and thyme, and with a variety of soft and hard cheeses including Fontina, goat, Gruyere, Manchego and Parmesan. Topped with sliced onions and baked until golden, the resulting galette never sticks around for long.

Mixed Mushroom Galette

Serves 2 to 4

for the dough:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornmeal

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold

1/3 cup cold water

for the filling:

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling over the filling

1 small shallot, minced

12 ounce mixture of oyster and cremini or other mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 cup grated Romano cheese

1/2 small yellow onion, sliced

1 egg, beaten

Handful of fresh, flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

directions:

To make the dough, stir together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a large bowl. Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until you have small, pea-sized chunks of butter throughout the flour.

Add the cold water. Toss the ingredients together until you have a rough, crumbly dough. At this point you will knead the dough with your hands for about 30 seconds before shaping the dough into a ball. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 45 minutes.

While the dough chills, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a sauté or frying pan. Add the shallot, mushrooms and salt. Cook for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms have released most of their excess liquid. Sprinkle in the thyme and stir to combine. Remove the pan from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Once the dough has chilled, place it on a floured work surface and roll it out into a 12-inch circle. Place the circle on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator. Spread 3/4 cup of the grated cheese, followed by the mushrooms and the sliced onions, on the dough, leaving a 1 1/2- to 2-inch border around the edges.

Fold in these edges and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the mushrooms and onions. Brush the whisked egg over the exposed crust. Drizzle a little olive oil over the onions.

Bake for 30 minutes, until golden in color. Remove the galette from the oven and spread the chopped parsley evenly over the top. Allow the galette to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.