Mushroom and Leek Galette with Gorgonzola

This is a delicious and beautiful vegetarian main dish which is hearty enough to be comfort food on the coldest of days. It's worth planning ahead to make this excellent crust. Consider serving this with a fresh salad and crusty bread. 

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Mushroom and Leek Galette with Gorgonzola 

Source: Cook's Illustrated Magazine
Serves 6

Dough:

1 1/4 c (6 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 c (2 3/4 ounces) whole-wheat flour
1 T sugar
3/4 teas salt
10 T unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
7 T ice water
1 teas white vinegar

Filling:

1 1/4 pds shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thin (or a combination of shiitake and cremini)
5 teas olive oil
1 pd leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced 1/2-in thick and washed thoroughly (3 c)
1 teas minced fresh thyme
2 T crème fraîche
1 T Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
3 ozs Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (3/4 c)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Kosher salt
2 T minced fresh parsley, optional

For the dough:

Process flours, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined, 2 to 3 pulses. Add butter and pulse until it forms pea-size pieces, about 10 pulses. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Sprinkle water and vinegar over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix until loose, shaggy mass forms with some dry flour remaining (do not overwork). Transfer mixture to center of large sheet of plastic wrap, press gently into rough 4-in square, and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.

Note from Cook's Illustrated: "Barely mixing the dough and then resting it in the refrigerator hydrates the flour while minimizing gluten development, for a more tender crust. Don’t worry if the dough looks loose and shaggy—it’s supposed to."

This is how "shaggy" the mass is. It is a little tough to get it into shape to begin with. I use the plastic wrap to hold the mass in place as I form it into the square.

Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface. Roll into 11 by 8-in rectangle with short side of rectangle parallel to edge of work surface. Using bench scraper, bring bottom third of dough up, then fold upper third over it, folding like business letter into 8 by 4-in rectangle. Turn dough 90 degrees counterclockwise. Roll out dough again into 11 by 8-in rectangle and fold into thirds again. Turn dough 90 degrees counterclockwise and repeat rolling and folding into thirds. After last fold, fold dough in half to create 4-in square. Press top of dough gently to seal. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

For the filling:

Cover mushrooms in bowl and microwave until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to colander to drain and return to bowl. Meanwhile, heat 1 T oil in 12-in skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add leeks and thyme, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are tender and beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to bowl with mushrooms. Stir in crème fraîche and mustard. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position, place pizza stone on oven rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. Roll out on generously floured (up to1/4 c) work surface to 14-in circle about 1/8-in thick. (Trim edges as needed to form rough circle.) Transfer dough to parchment paper–lined rimmed baking sheet. With tip of paring knife,  or a drinking straw, cut five 1/4-in circles in dough (one at center and four evenly spaced midway from center to edge of dough). Brush top of dough with 1 teas oil.

Spread half of filling evenly over dough, leaving 2-in border around edge. Sprinkle with half of Gorgonzola, cover with remaining filling, and top with remaining Gorgonzola. Drizzle remaining 1 teas oil over filling. Grasp 1 edge of dough and fold up outer 2 inches over filling. Repeat around circumference of tart, overlapping dough every 2 to 3 inches; gently pinch pleated dough to secure but do not press dough into filling. Brush dough with egg and sprinkle evenly with kosher salt.

Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake until crust is deep golden brown and filling is beginning to brown, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool tart on baking sheet on wire rack for 10 minutes. Using offset or wide metal spatula, loosen tart from parchment and carefully slide tart off parchment onto cutting board. Sprinkle with parsley, cut into wedges, and serve.

Notes from Colette:  You may have noticed that I didn't use gorgonzola cheese in the example above. I was too lazy to run to the store (takes too long out here in the boonies). I used some asiago cheese I had in the fridge. It worked fine but gorgonzola is a better choice.