Recipes

Sausage, Cep and Chestnut Galette

Posted on November 21 2024 at 12:37

This recipe was created by my friend cookery writer Claire Thomson of 5 o’clock apron to celebrate the release of this year’s Beaujolais Nouveau about which we’ve just made a reel which you can find on my instagram feed @food_writer.

I’ve generally gone down the easy (and typically French) route of recommending it with charcuterie and cheese but she’s come up with a delicious galette (open-topped pie) that would make a great main course for a Beaujolais nouveau supper. It’s super-easy to rustle up too.

We tried it with the 2024 Chateau de Vaux Beaujolais Villages which I was sent to try by Christopher Piper Wines which is brimming with cherry flavours and great value at £10.94.

Serves 4

Pastry
125g 00 plain flour
125g wholemeal flour
150g cold butter, diced
1 egg beaten with pinch of salt

Galette filling
Handful of dried cep or porcini, soaked for 15 mins in boiling water, drained (keep the water for another recipe)
150g button mushrooms, sliced
2 red onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic
3 sprigs of thyme
3 best quality sausages
Big knob of extra butter
Salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt (egg wash)
4 - 6 chestnuts, coarsely grated (you can buy them in a vac pack)
Parmesan

Claire served this with a salad of watercress, russet apple, hazelnut and parsley dressed with red wine vinaigrette (and I served it rather less healthily, as you can see, with new potatoes and Brussel tops!)

Claire writes: Make the pastry, I used a food processor to pulse, then added the egg and splash of very cold water to bring the mix together. I refrigerated it overnight. Roll the pastry out approx 1/2 cm thick & 38cm round and refrigerate again on a baking sheet.

Cook the onions, garlic and thyme for 10 mins over medium heat till softened. Add both mushrooms and cook for 5 mins to soften. Add thyme, salt and pepper. Off the heat, add sausages (removed from casings). Arrange this in the centre of the pastry, leaving a border. Pull the sides over to create a border of approx 5cm. (See Claire’s reel)

Egg wash the pastry and cook in at 190°C/160°fan/375°F/Gas 5 for around 40 - 45 mins. Remove from the oven and grate over the chestnuts and parmesan to serve.

What else to drink: Other light juicy reds such as a pinot noir or cinsault would work too.

For pairings with other Beaujolais wines see this post.

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