There is a kind of cooking that asks something of you that is not effort exactly, but presence. You cannot rush a galette. You cannot assemble it while looking at your phone or thinking about something else. It asks for the thirty or forty minutes of your full, unhurried attention that so few things in modern life have the patience to request anymore.

In return, it gives you something extraordinary. A pastry made with ground walnuts, which adds a depth and nuttiness that no plain shortcrust can replicate. A filling of wild mushrooms cooked slowly until they release all of their earthy, umami richness. Sweet leeks that collapse into silkiness alongside them. A generous scatter of Gruyère that melts and catches at the edges, turning golden and a little crisp where it meets the pastry. Fresh thyme running through all of it like a quiet thread.

Wild mushrooms are, quietly, one of the most nutritionally significant ingredients of the autumn season. They are among the few plant-based sources of vitamin D, particularly when exposed to sunlight. They are rich in B vitamins, including B2, B3, and B5, which support energy metabolism and nervous system function. They contain selenium and zinc in forms the body absorbs readily. None of this is why you should make this galette. You should make it because it is one of the most quietly spectacular things you can put on a table in October, and because the making of it will slow you down in a way that turns out to be exactly what was needed.

It serves four generously, or two with leftovers that are genuinely worth having cold the following day.

Wild Mushroom and Leek Galette with Gruyère and Walnut Pastry

Prep Time: 25 minutes, plus 30 minutes chilling | Cooking Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes including chilling |Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS
• 150 grams plain flour
• 50 grams walnuts, blitzed to a fine crumb in a food processor
• 125 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 1 pinch pinch of fine sea salt
• 3 tablespoons tablespoons ice-cold water
• 400 grams mixed wild mushrooms, such as chestnut, shiitake, oyster and girolles, roughly torn or sliced
• 2 large leeks, trimmed, halved lengthways and finely sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoons tablespoon olive oil
• 100 grams Gruyère, finely grated
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves picked
• 2 tablespoons tablespoons crème fraîche
• 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
• 1 pinch sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped, to finish
• 1 teaspoons teaspoon Dijon mustard

STEPS
1. Make the walnut pastry: Place 150 grams plain flour, the blitzed 50 grams walnuts, blitzed to a fine crumb in a food processor, and 1 pinch pinch of fine sea salt in a large bowl. Add 125 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and rub it into the flour and walnut mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter still visible. Those pieces are what create the flakiness. Add 3 tablespoons tablespoons ice-cold water one tablespoon at a time, mixing with a knife after each addition, until the pastry just comes together into a shaggy dough. Do not overwork it. Press into a flat disc, wrap in baking paper or cling film, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Cook the mushrooms: Heat 2 tablespoons tablespoons unsalted butter and 1 tablespoons tablespoon olive oil in a large, wide frying pan over a medium-high heat. Once the butter foams, add 400 grams mixed wild mushrooms, such as chestnut, shiitake, oyster and girolles, roughly torn or sliced in a single layer. Do not stir for the first 2 to 3 minutes. Let the mushrooms sit and caramelise before turning. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes total until deeply golden and any liquid released has fully evaporated. Season generously with 1 pinch sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and transfer to a plate.

3. Cook the leeks: In the same pan over a medium-low heat, add a small extra knob of butter if needed. Add 2 large leeks, trimmed, halved lengthways and finely sliced with a pinch of 1 pinch sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook gently for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until completely softened and sweet. Add 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced and 3 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves picked and cook for 2 minutes more. Return the mushrooms to the pan, stir in 2 tablespoons tablespoons crème fraîche, and taste for seasoning. The filling should be rich, savoury, and fragrant. Set aside to cool slightly.

4. Roll the pastry: Heat your oven to 200°C, 180°C fan, gas mark 6. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Remove the pastry from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll it into a rough circle approximately 30 to 35cm in diameter and about 3mm thick. It will not be a perfect circle. That is fine. Transfer it carefully to the lined baking tray by rolling it loosely around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the tray.

5. Assemble the galette: Spread 1 teaspoons teaspoon Dijon mustard thinly over the pastry base, leaving a 5cm border all around. Scatter half of 100 grams Gruyère, finely grated over the mustard. Spoon the mushroom and leek filling evenly over the cheese layer, again leaving the 5cm border clear. Scatter the remaining 100 grams Gruyère, finely grated over the top of the filling.

6. Fold and egg wash: Fold the pastry border up and over the edge of the filling, pleating it as you go to create rough, overlapping folds. Do not try to make this neat. The pleating is both functional and beautiful in its imperfection. Brush the folded pastry edges generously with 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash. This gives the galette its deep, burnished golden colour in the oven.

7. Bake and finish: Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the pastry is deeply golden and crisp, the cheese is bubbling, and the edges of the filling are catching and caramelising at the borders. The galette should smell extraordinary before it is ready, which is its way of telling you it is nearly done. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes before scattering over 1 small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped, to finish and serving.

**Hints & Tips**

**On the walnut pastry.** The walnuts must be blitzed to a genuinely fine crumb, not left chunky, or the pastry will crack when you roll it. A food processor does this in thirty seconds. If you do not have one, a sealed bag and a rolling pin achieve the same result with slightly more effort. The pastry is more delicate than a standard shortcrust, which is part of its charm. Handle it gently and do not overwork it.

**On the chilling.** The thirty minute chill in the fridge is not optional. Butter pastry that has not been properly rested will shrink and crack during baking. If time allows, an hour in the fridge produces an even better result.

**On the mushrooms.** Do not crowd the pan. Crowded mushrooms steam rather than sear, and you will lose the caramelisation that gives the filling its depth. If your pan is not large enough, cook the mushrooms in two batches, setting the first aside before adding the second. They will reduce considerably in volume, which is exactly as it should be.

**On the Gruyère.** Reserve a generous handful to scatter over the top of the filling just before the edges are folded in, as well as using some in the base layer. The contrast between the melted interior cheese and the golden, slightly crisped cheese at the edges is one of the galette's finest qualities.

**On the galette's shape.** It will not be a perfect circle and it should not be. The slight irregularity of the edges, the places where the pastry folds in at an angle, are what make it look genuinely homemade rather than manufactured. Embrace it.

**To make it more substantial.** Add a layer of caramelised onions beneath the mushroom filling, or serve alongside a simple green salad dressed with a sharp mustard vinaigrette and a handful of toasted walnuts to echo the pastry.

**On storing leftovers.** The galette keeps well in the fridge for up to two days. Reheat in a 180°C oven for ten to twelve minutes to crisp the pastry back up rather than microwaving, which makes it soggy. Cold slices eaten the following day with a handful of dressed leaves are, honestly, one of the better things about making it.

**On making it ahead.** The pastry can be made up to two days in advance and kept wrapped in the fridge. The mushroom and leek filling can be made a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge. With both done, assembly and baking takes only forty minutes on the day, which makes this an excellent choice for a relaxed dinner with guests.