Chloe-Rose Crabtree’s Caramelised Onion, Cabbage, and Blue Cheese Galette
Chloe-Rose Crabtree’s Caramelised Onion, Cabbage, and Blue Cheese Galette
How to perfect your pie pastry – including tips for veganisation – and a recipe for a richly comforting autumnal galette. Words and photos by Chloe Rose Crabtree.
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Welcome to Vittles Recipes! This week’s columnist is Chloe-Rose Crabtree. You can read our archive of cookery writing here.
Chloe-Rose Crabtree’s Caramelised Onion, Cabbage, and Blue Cheese Galette
A guide to making the perfect pie pastry – including tips for veganisation – and a recipe for a richly comforting autumnal galette. Words and photos by Chloe Rose Crabtree. Additional photos by Georgia Rudd.
In my family, my great-grandmother was known for her pie crust. When as a teen I became responsible for making the Thanksgiving pies, hers was the standard I was measured against. Driven by nostalgia, my family was always happy to offer their critiques, whether I wanted them or not.
I graduated from the annual pastry review in my early twenties. By that time, I was baking professionally and had come by three hard-earned pastry principles: do not overwork your dough, give your pastry time to rest, and make sure any cooked fillings are cooled before assembly.
For an American-style pie, I like a pastry that is both flaky and tender, somewhere between shortcrust and rough-puff, with a satisfying crisp texture to counteract a perfectly juicy or creamy pie filling. However, my tried-and-tested US recipe, based loosely on Julia Child’s pâte brisée, didn’t travel well to the UK. When I first moved here, my pastry kept turning out shrunken, greasy, and tough. But after adjusting to compensate for the higher fat content of British butter, slightly lower protein content of the flour, and the humidity of London compared with arid LA, I’ve managed to recreate my perfect pie pastry, which I share here with you.
In this week’s column, I’ll walk you through how to perfect your own pastry – whatever the weather. I’ll troubleshoot potential pitfalls, and provide guidance on how best to veganise the recipe. This pastry works equally well in both sweet and savoury dishes. And although it will eventually form the basis for my ultimate centrepiece pie, here I’m using it to make a caramelised onion, cabbage, and blue cheese galette – a nourishing and warming dish, perfect for the changing of the seasons.
Chloe-Rose Crabtree’s Favourite Pie Pastry
Makes Enough pastry for two galettes or pies (freeze one batch for an easy bake next time!)
Time 20 mins plus at least 30 mins’ resting