Go, go Galette

I just dug up this beautiful personal project Fred and I did this past summer. We made a galette (and took pictures of it). For the life of me, I don't think I had ever made one before. We went about it using my mom’s pie crust recipe and adding a liberal sprinkling of sugar and cinnamon into the dough. Then spring-boarding from a NYT Cooking recipe for the rest, we were all set.



I thought the light Fred created for the photographs in this series was just breathtaking. The galette was pretty great too. So I thought it would be nice to share both.

It will be harder to find beautiful, ripe peaches and blackberries right now (at least here on the East Coast), but you can mix and match any seasonal fruits for this dessert. It’s fall, now. Maybe go apple? Soon enough you can go persimmon. And don't forget to always go à la mode!

Blackberry-Peach Galette

(Recipe adapted from Martha Rose Shulman in NYT Cooking)

Makes 1 9-inch galette

INGREDIENTS

Galette:

1 pie crust/dessert pastry (1/2 recipe) (recipe below)

1 ½ pounds ripe peaches, pitted and sliced 1/4-inch thick

8 ounces fresh blackberries

2 Tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons basil chiffonade

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup finely crushed almonds

1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon milk, for egg wash

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Pastry:

Makes 2 pie crusts

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) sweet butter, chilled

6 tablespoons lard, chilled

5-6 tablespoons ice water, as needed

DIRECTIONS

Pastry:

Sift flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt into a mixing bowl. Add chilled butter and lard. Working quickly and using your fingertips, rub or cut fat into dry ingredients until the mixture resembles course meal.

Sprinkle on ice water, 2-3 tablespoons at a time, and toss with a fork. Turn dough out onto your work surface and, using the heel of your hand, smear dough away from you, about 1/4 cup at a time. Scrape it up into a ball and wrap in wax paper. Chill in freezer for 2 hours.

Galette:

Place frozen pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Leave it to thaw *briefly* while you prepare the fruit. You still want it very cold to manipulate.

Mix the peaches, blackberries, honey, cinnamon, basil and vanilla in a large bowl and very gently toss together with your hands.

Sprinkle the crushed almonds over the pastry, leaving about a 3-inch border all around the exterior (see photos for visual guidance). Place fruit mixture on top. Fold edges of the dough in and over the fruit, “pleating” the edges as you work your way around the fruit to create a tart that is approximately 9 inches in diameter. Put galette in the freezer on the baking sheet for 45 minutes to an hour while you preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the galette from the freezer. Brush the pastry with your egg wash. Combine the extra tablespoon of sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the fruit and the crust. Place in the oven and bake about 1 hour, or until the fruit is bubbling and bright juice is running out looking all perfect for your Instagram. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes or so. Serve hot or warm, with or without ice cream (with!).

Printable recipe.

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