Butternut Squash Gallet with Caramelized Onions

I must make a confession. I don't really like all foods. Particularly, a lot of vegetables that are supposed to be good for you, like sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and squash. Well, since I'm in a cooking club, I must venture out and try new things occasionally that I wouldn't normally eat. Butternut squash being one of those things. Months ago when my cooking gals and I met, one of us brought this awesome dish. It was so, so good. I went back for seconds. This was the first time I had eaten butternut squash. I can't say that I'd like it all the time, but baked in a pastry with cheese and onions, yes please! The original recipe came from Smitten Kitchen. There is a from scratch pastry there, and I've linked it below, but for my purposes, I used a store-bought roll out pie crust. It was still just as good. My little boys tried it, and weren't huge fans, but that's no surprise. The only orange veggie we really eat around here is carrots. Well, except for the baby, I'm bringing her up to like everything!

Butternut Squash Gallet with Carmelized Onions
adapted from Smitten Kitchen


Ingredients:
1 pastry or pie crust
1 small butternut squash (about one pound)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced in half-moons
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
3/4 cup fontina cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces), grated or cut into small bits
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves (or 3/4 teaspoon dried)


Directions:

If you want to make your own pastry, you can go to Smitten Kitchen for her recipe, use your own, or use a store-bought pie crust. I went for easy this time and used one of those refrigerated rolled pie crusts.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut squash in half. Scoop out seeds and place on a baking sheet with skin down, orange "meat" up. Brush tops with olive oil and sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt on top. Bake about 30 minutes until tender. Set aside to cool slightly.

While squash is roasting, melt butter in a heavy skillet and cook onion over low heat with the remaining half-teaspoon of salt and pinch of sugar, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir in cayenne.

Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Mix squash, caramelized onions, cheese, and sage together in a bowl.

To assemble galette, Roll out pie crust and place on an ungreased baking sheet. (If making your own, roll it out on a floured surface and then transfer to baking sheet.) Spread squash, onions, cheese and herb mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold the border over the squash, onion and cheese mixture, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open.

Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature.