The following recipe appears in The Meat Lover’s Meatless Celebrations by Kim O’Donnel.

If you’ve never made a galette, it’s more rustic than either a pie or tart. I often like to describe it as a big Pop-Tart.

Kitchen notes: It’s always a good idea to read a recipe in entirety before cooking, but in this case, it’s particularly crucial. Playing with dough requires a bit of organization. Make the filling first.

You want it to be ready because the dough, once rolled out, waits for no one.

Blood oranges, which are typically in season from December through March, vary in size. You’re looking for a total of two cups of fruit for the filling. Don’t worry if your total amount of fruit falls short; you can get away with 1.75 cups of filling.

Because a galette is baked free-form without a pan, it’s important to shape and roll out dough on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper that will ultimately be transferred to a baking sheet.

Makes six to eight servings.

Blood orange filling

4 to 6 medium-size blood oranges
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour or cornstarch
1⁄2 cup granulated sugar, plus more to taste
Pinch of salt

Enlightened pie dough

4 tablespoons olive oil
1⁄2 cup water
2 cups all-purpose flour, at room temperature, plus more for dusting
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
2 to 3 tablespoons apricot or raspberry jam
Egg white wash: 1 egg white, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1 to 2 tablespoons granulated or coarse sugar

Tools: Food processor, 5-inch dough scraper, silicone baking mat or parchment paper, silicone or pastry brush

Preparation

Blood orange filling

With a paring knife, remove the peel and pith of the blood oranges. Begin by slicing off the peel of both ends so that the fruit can sit upright. From top to bottom, slice away the peel and as much pith as possible without cutting into the fruit. Trim the pith as needed. Cut the oranges into quarter-inch rounds.

With the tip of the knife, carefully remove any seeds and poke out any remaining white pith knobs in the center of the rounds.

Place the fruit in a medium-size bowl and add the cinnamon, flour, sugar, and salt, stirring gently until completely coated. Allow to macerate for about 30 minutes.

Enlightened pie dough

Place the olive oil in a small bowl and set aside.

Place the water in a small saucepan and heat until very hot. It need not be boiling but should be pretty close.

While the water is heating, measure out the flour. Remove 1 tablespoon and reserve for rolling out the dough. (You may need a little bit more than your reserve for a second rolling.) Place in a food processor, along with the salt and the baking powder, and pulse a few times just to mix.

Add the butter. Pulse until the mixture looks and feels like fluffy sand. You should not be able to see butter clumps.

Measure out 1⁄4 cup (4 tablespoons) of the water and add to the oil. With a fork, whisk together; it will look like a vinaigrette.

Pour the oil mixture on top of the flour mixture, and pulse until the dough just comes together. It may slightly pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should feel soft, warm, and pliable, not hard and crumbly. If the dough looks as if it needs more liquid, add the hot water in 1-tablespoon increments, pulse, and check the softness of the dough.

Lightly dust your rolling surface with some of the reserved flour, and place the dough on top. Surround the dough with both hands to let it know you’re there, or as Kate McDermott says, “give it a good handshake,” molding it into a cohesive lump.

Roll the dough in quick, even strokes, making a quarter-turn after every few strokes. As you rotate and roll the dough, check regularly to make sure the dough is not sticking. (A dough scraper is helpful at this stage.) The immediate goal is to make a rectangle roughly nine by 11 inches. (Don’t worry if it’s not exact.)

Fold the dough like a letter: Starting from a short edge, fold over a third of your dough. Take the opposite edge and fold it to the middle, covering the first fold.

Make a quarter-turn, then roll out the dough into a new rectangle, dusting with flour as needed. Make another letter fold with the dough.

Give the dough another quarter-turn, and roll the dough in all four directions — north, south, east, west. Fold the dough in half into a four- to five-inch square packet. Roll lightly on top to seal the layers and surround the edges with both hands to tidy the dough.

Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest in the refrigerator for a brief 10 minutes. Unlike an all-butter dough, this dough never goes into a deep sleep and gets cold; think of it as a brief catnap after all that rolling and folding.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a microwave oven or a small saucepan, heat up the jam until melty, like a sauce.

Roll out the dough on the rolling surface. Dust both the top and bottom of the dough with extra flour, as needed. With more of those deft, even strokes, roll the dough into a nine- or 10-inch circle or rectangle.

Brush the surface of the dough with a thin layer of the melted jam, leaving a two-inch border all around.

Strain the fruit before placing on top of the dough. Arrange the fruit in overlapping fashion, again within the two-inch border.

With the help of a dough scraper (or the surface underneath), lift the margins of the dough, section by section, over the filling, pressing dough edges when they meet. As much as one-third of the filling in the center will be exposed; that’s OK.

Brush the top of the dough with the egg white wash, then sprinkle lightly with the sugar. Brush the exposed fruit with the remaining melted jam.

Transfer the galette (and its liner underneath) to a baking sheet and into the refrigerator for a quick five-minute chill.

Bake for five minutes. Lower the heat to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 35 to 40 minutes, checking at minute 30 for doneness. The galette is done when the crust is golden and the fruit is bubbling.

Grab the two ends of the parchment or baking mat and transfer the galette to a rack, allowing to cool for about one hour.

From the book The Meat Lover’s Meatless Celebrations by Kim O’Donnel.  Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright (c) 2012.

A multistep, time-consuming affair this dish may be, but everything can be made in staggered fashion over the course of two days and assembled when you’re ready to serve. Your labor will result in a beauty of a dish: red onion shells now a shade of mauve, filled with all the colors of autumn in the pumpkin bread stuffing. The guests will go wild.

Kitchen notes: I’ve created a two-day game plan to divide the workload and help manage prep among the dish’s four main components. The gravy can be made in advance and gently reheated when ready to serve.

Day 1: Root vegetable gravy

This is no gravy in the ordinary sense, in that there are no pan drippings or roux to speak of. A mess of root vegetables are slathered with olive oil and roasted until super tender, then pureed and thinned out with vegetable stock. Thanks to my ingenious friend Nicole Aloni, who’s got a slew of cookbooks under her own belt, I learned this handy trick, which turns a rouxless sauce into a gravy with gusto.

Makes one quart

1 medium-size onion, halved and peeled
2 cups peeled, 2- to 3-inch pieces of any combination of parsnips, carrots, or celery root
1 shallot bulb, peeled and left whole
6 cloves garlic, skin on
4 tablespoons olive oil
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
3 to 5 cups vegetable stock
2 teaspoons soy sauce or wheat-free tamari
Freshly ground black pepper
1⁄2 lemon

Tools: Roasting pan, parchment paper, food processor

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a roasting pan with parchment paper. Place all the vegetables, shallots, and garlic in a large bowl and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. With your hands, coat the vegetables with the oil. Season with the salt.

Arrange the vegetables in a single layer in the prepared pan and roast for 35 minutes. Check on the garlic; if very soft to the touch, remove. (You do not want it to burn.) Cover the pan and roast the vegetables for an additional 10 minutes; they should be tender enough to cut with a fork.

Remove the now-cooled garlic cloves from their skins and place in the bowl of a food processor, along with the roasted vegetables and thyme.

Process until well blended; the mixture will resemble a puree. While the motor is running, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. The mixture should be smooth and free of vegetable bits.

In a medium-size saucepan over low heat, warm the vegetable stock and keep at a simmer.

Pour the puree into another medium-size saucepan and heat over medium heat. Gradually ladle in the stock until it arrives at the desired consistency; I’m usually happy with the results after 3 cups of stock.

Season with the soy sauce (this will also give the gravy a little color à la Kitchen Bouquet).

Generously season with the black pepper to taste, and a faint squeeze of the lemon. Keep on the heat until ready to pour into a gravy boat.

To make ahead: Let cool, then store in the refrigerator until ready to reheat for serving.

Pumpkin-rosemary bread

This bread is inspired by a pumpkin-raisin quick bread from a Bobby Flay cookbook. It’s the foundation for Flay’s bread pudding, which I made for several consecutive Thanksgivings. With the exception of a smidge of sugar, the quick bread for the stuffing is seriously savory, with freshly chopped rosemary leading the charge.

Makes six to seven cups of bread cubes

Oil or butter, for greasing a loaf pan
1.75 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves
3⁄4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, softened and cut into several pieces
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1⁄4 cup neutral oil
1 egg
1⁄3 cup full-fat or 2% plain yogurt, ideally Greek style
1 cup unsweetened pure pumpkin puree (from a 15-ounce can)
1⁄2 cup water
1⁄2 cup dried cranberries, cherries, or currants
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped finely

Tools: Stand or handheld mixer, nine-inch loaf pan

Preparation

Grease a 9-inch loaf pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, all of the ground spices, and salt and stir together.

Using a stand or handheld mixer, cream the butter with the sugar in a large bowl until fluffy, about 90 seconds. Add the oil and egg and beat until somewhat frothy, another 90 seconds. Then add the yogurt and the pumpkin puree and beat until well mixed.

Add the dry ingredients, in thirds, alternating with the water, to the wet batter. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix together. The batter will be somewhat sticky. Stir in the dried fruit and rosemary until evenly distributed.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, place on a baking sheet, and bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. The top of the bread should spring back when pressed lightly.

Place the pan on a rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife along the sides of the pan and invert to release the bread, and let cool completely on the rack.

When the bread is completely cooled, cut into one-inch cubes. Place the cubes on a baking sheet in a single layer and allow to dry out overnight.

If the cubes need additional toasting, place in the oven at 300 degrees F for up to an hour.

Day 2: Prep the onions and make the stuffing

Makes six servings

7 red onions (about 1⁄2 pound each)
6 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped celery
(2 to 3 stalks) or bok choy
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Swiss chard or spinach that has been washed, dried, stemmed, and finely chopped
Large pinch of ground chile pepper of choice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 cups vegetable stock
Pumpkin-rosemary bread cubes

Tools: Melon baller, 12-inch skillet

Preparation

Trim the tops and bottoms of six of the onions so they can sit upright, then peel. With a melon baller or a teaspoon, dig a little well in the top of each onion to create an opening, without tunneling through.

Place the onions in a medium-size saucepan, along with the water. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes over medium heat.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Transfer the cooked onions to a baking dish and add a small amount of the cooking liquid — about half a cup — until the surface of the dish is covered. Cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes.

While the onions roast, make the stuffing: Cut the remaining red onion in half, peel, and mince; you’re looking for a total of half a cup.

Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the minced red onion, celery, and garlic, stirring regularly until slightly softened, about four minutes. Add the chard and turn with tongs until coated with the aromatics. Cook until the greens wilt, two to three minutes. Season with the chile pepper, and salt and black pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, bring the vegetable stock to a quick boil in a medium-size saucepan, then lower the heat to low, keeping it hot at a gentle simmer.

Place the rosemary-pumpkin bread cubes in a large bowl. Place the contents of the skillet mixture on top, and mix together until well mixed. Ladle in the hot stock in half-cup increments, keeping an eye on absorption. Be careful not to oversaturate the stuffing, yielding a soggy result. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper as needed.

With tongs, remove the onions one by one from the baking dish and transfer to a plate. Drain them of any lingering water and set aside until cool enough to handle. Drain the baking dish of the water.

Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking dish.

Pushing from the top opening, remove each onion’s insides. (You can store the onion remnants in the refrigerator for fried rice or your next omelet; they will keep for a few days in a covered container.) It’s OK if a hole results on the other end. Carefully return the onion shells to the baking dish. Fill the onions with the stuffing until generously packed, and put the remaining stuffing in the prepared baking dish.

Cover the onions with foil and bake until warmed through, about 15 minutes. Make room for the remaining stuffing, also covered with foil, and bake until hot, about 20 minutes.

Serve with the root vegetable gravy.

From the book The Meat Lover’s Meatless Celebrations by Kim O’Donnel.  Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright (c) 2012.