Lancashire Cheese and Apple Galette : British Food Fortnight 2014

September 24, 2014 Ella Dooly

As promised, here is the first of our recipes created in honour of British Food Fortnight 2014. Living in Manchester, I have of course drawn inspiration from the North West, utilising some fine regional produce in that long-established British way; wrapping it in pastry!

Traditionally this would have been made as a pie, but I chose a galette as a lighter, more modern take. For this recipe, I pair apples with beautiful Lancashire cheese, a very mild, slightly sour cheese with a crumbly texture.

I am using apple varieties that you are unlikely to find in the supermarket; James Grieve Apple which a traditional UK apple dating back to 1893, and Katy - a small, sharp-tasting apple which pairs well with cheese. A good recipe for using up some of that harvest glut. Serves 4, generously.

Send a Katy Apple tree as a gift with Tree2mydoor. A versatile apple with a sharp taste.

Send a James Grieve apple tree as a gift with Tree2mydoor. A good apple for cooking and juicing.

Ingredients

For the Pastry

200g plain flour, sifted
120g chilled butter, cubed
1 free-range egg, beaten
thyme (fresh is preferable, but dried can work too)
a pinch of salt

For the Filling

potatoes
200g lancashire cheese, crumbled
100g strong cheddar
2 -3 apples, cut into thin discs (I am using a mixture of Katy and James Grieve apples)
thyme
two white onion, thinly sliced
one organic chicken stock cube
salt and pepper

Method

1. Make the pastry by rubbing together the butter, flour, chopped thyme and salt until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs (if you have a food processor it can do the hard work for you). Add just enough egg to bring together with your hands.

2.Wrap in clingfilm and cool in the fridge for half an hour

Rub cubed cold butter into flour until you have a breadcrumb consistency

3. Roll out the pastry until it is about 1cm thick. You can do this straight onto greaseproof paper Dont worry if the shape is a bit uneven - galettes look beautiful when they are a bit rustic!

4. Cut the potatoes into thin discs and parboil for 4 minutes. Drain and allow to dry completely.

5. Fry an onion in butter until it is golden brown

6. Arrange the potato, onions, half the apple slices and the cheddar cheese in layers on the pastry, seasoning each layer (remember don't be too heavy handed with the salt as cheese is often salty). Leave a thick pastry border all the way around

7. Top with as much Lancashire cheese as you fancy then half a teaspoon of chopped thyme

8. Arrange the apples in an attractive pattern on top