Mushroom Galette — The One I Made for a Baby Dressed as a Shiitake

Halloween week. Miya's costume this year: a mushroom. Barbara made it again — a brown felt cap, a white stem bodysuit, little spots. She looked like a shiitake and I documented the fact with approximately one hundred photographs, because what is the point of a baby mushroom costume if not to photograph it from every conceivable angle?

We did a neighborhood trick-or-treat — Miya too young for candy but old enough to toddle up to doors and accept things she cannot eat with the gracious bewilderment of someone attending a ritual they do not understand. She handed each piece of candy to me and I said "thank you" for her and we moved to the next house and she did it again. The repetition delighted her. Toddlers love repetition. It is the closest thing to ritual that a one-year-old understands, and ritual, as I know better than anyone, is the thing that holds a life together.

I made korokke — Japanese potato croquettes — for a Halloween potluck at a neighbor's house. Mashed potato mixed with sauteed ground beef and onion, formed into patties, breaded in panko, fried golden. They are the Japanese answer to comfort food — warm, crispy, the kind of food that makes a house smell like someone cares. I brought forty and came home with an empty plate, which is the only metric of potluck success that matters.

I took Miya to Sacramento for a long weekend to see Fumiko and Ken. The visit deserves its own paragraph, its own essay, its own book. Fumiko is eighty-nine and moving slower. She uses a walker now — a small one, with tennis balls on the feet, the kind that makes a shuffling sound on the kitchen linoleum. But she still cooks. Every morning: dashi, miso soup, rice. The routine has not changed in thirty years. The body has changed around the routine, but the routine holds. It holds her. It is the scaffolding that keeps her upright.

Miya sat on Fumiko's lap and ate rice from Fumiko's bowl, and Fumiko's hands — thin, spotted, trembling slightly — held the bowl steady for her great-granddaughter, and I watched and memorized and stored every detail in the place where I keep the things I cannot afford to forget. Fumiko's hands. Fumiko's bowl. Fumiko's rice. The chain between us, visible and unbreakable, passed through ceramic and grain.

The korokke came home on an empty plate, which is the metric I always use, but it was the mushrooms — Miya’s mushroom costume, the shiitake cap Barbara sewed, the hundred photographs — that stayed with me after the week settled. I kept coming back to this mushroom galette, which is the recipe I turn to whenever I want something that feels both festive and grounding: a free-form pastry that does not demand perfection, just care. It is the kind of thing Fumiko would have understood — simple, deliberate, made from good things handled with attention.

Savory Mushroom Galette

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• For the whole wheat galette dough:
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup cold water, plus 1–2 tablespoons more as needed
• For the mushroom filling:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 lb mixed mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, and oyster), sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 large egg, beaten (for egg wash)
• Flaky sea salt, for finishing
• Fresh parsley or thyme, to garnish

Instructions

1. Make the dough. Whisk together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and use your fingertips to work them into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized butter pieces remaining. Add 1/4 cup cold water and stir with a fork until the dough just begins to come together, adding 1–2 more tablespoons water if needed. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Caramelize the onions. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until deeply golden and soft, about 18–22 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
3. Cook the mushrooms. Increase heat to medium-high and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the same skillet. Add the mushrooms in a single layer — do not crowd the pan — and cook undisturbed for 3–4 minutes until browned on the bottom. Stir and cook another 2–3 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook 1 minute more. Deglaze with the balsamic vinegar, scraping up any browned bits. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Combine with the caramelized onions.
4. Mix the cheese base. Stir together the ricotta and Parmesan in a small bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
5. Preheat and roll. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a rough 13-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
6. Assemble the galette. Spread the ricotta mixture over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Spoon the mushroom and onion mixture evenly over the ricotta. Fold the dough border up and over the edge of the filling, pleating as you go and pressing gently to adhere. Brush the folded crust with the beaten egg and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
7. Bake. Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the crust is deeply golden and the filling is bubbling at the edges. Let cool on the pan for 10 minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh parsley or thyme sprigs.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 340 | Protein: 10g | Fat: 20g | Carbs: 32g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 390mg