New England Apple Cheddar Galette

“An apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze.” 

There is a tradition in New England, and some parts of the midwest, to serve a slice of cheese, usually sharp cheddar, alongside a piece of apple pie, or even melted on top.

For those of us who didn’t grow up with this tradition, even though we may love eating apple slices with cheese, the whole idea of cheddar cheese with a pie is well, just wrong. As in, “are you kidding?” wrong.

If this is you, I understand.

But just let the idea percolate a little while. Apples and cheese are good together, right?

A slice of apple with a slice of cheese—bare, naked perfection. Why? Because apples are both sweet and a little tart, and cheese is salty with plenty of umami. So your taste buds are firing on all cylinders when you eat them in combination. 

Still, the idea of cheddar with or in a sweet apple dessert is weird, to those of us unaccustomed to the idea. So, you’ll have to just trust me on this one.

It’s good. Like “where has this been all my life?” good.

I’m speaking from experience here. I have shunned the idea since the first time I heard of it. But this week I decided to take the plunge and make a simple galette, a rustic tart with apples, some maple syrup for sweetener, cheddar, in a buttery, cheddar speckled crust.

All I can say is WOW. Thank you New England.

New England Apple Cheddar Galette Recipe

If using a tart apple such as a Granny Smith, you may want to add a little sugar or more maple syrup to the filling to balance the tartness of the apple.

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups (200g) of all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cups, 6 ounces, 170 g) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp (85 ml) sour cream (full fat, not light)
• 2 Tbsp finely grated sharp cheddar cheese

Filling:

• 4 good cooking apples, such as McIntosh, Courtland, Jonagold, Pippin, Golden Delicious, Jonathan, Fuji, or a mixture of various cooking apples (NOT red delicious)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 half of a lemon, or the juice of half a lemon (to acidulate the water for holding the apples while you peel them to keep them from discoloring)
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons minute tapioca or instant tapioca for thickener (can substitute corn starch)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup lightly packed grated cheddar cheese

Finishing:

• 1 egg for egg wash
• Coarse sugar for sprinkling on the crust

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