I love non-recipe recipes, and this is one of them. This “recipe” is more of a suggestion of how to make the most out of the abundance of summer stone fruit we are enjoying right now. The plums here have been out of the world lately, I could make myself sick eating them! This easy galette is a beautiful treat to bring out after dinner, especially if you have company. The rustic look of a freeform galette makes for a truly chic presentation.
This galette would be wonderful with apricots, blueberries, strawberries, or whatever fruit is ripe and plenty at your local market. This recipe is infinitely adaptable. Jeff had made some shortbread the day before, so I decided to crumble some in with the fruits to help sop up excess moisture and add some crunch. You could add nuts or shredded coconut too. Get crazy!
A great pie crust is key to the success of your galette. Make sure your butter and shortening are very, very cold. I cube mine and pop it into the freezer for 10 minutes before I make my crust. I usually make my pie crust by hand, but it has been so hot here that I have been doing mine in the food processor to keep my butter from getting too soft. Not over-processing the dough is key. Recipes usually call for “pea sized chunks of butter” but the butter chunks should actually be much larger than that! You want big, visible chunks of butter in your dough.
recipe (makes two pie crusts, so save the other
one for our quiche recipe)
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, well chilled
1/3 cup vegetable shortening, well chilled
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup iced water
1 tbsp chilled vodka
5 plums, pitted and sliced
2 peaches, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup blueberries
1/3 cup light brown sugar
Cinnamon to sprinkle
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 egg, beaten
1 Tablespoon heavy cream
Cube butter and shortening and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine 2 cups of the flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse briefly twice. Remover butter and shortening from the freezer and dump into the bowl of the food processor. Pulse 6-8 times, being careful not to over-process the dough. There should be big chunks of butter visible in the dough.
Pour the butter/flour mixture into a large mixing bowl and use a rubber spatula to stir in the remaining 1 cup of flour. Sprinkle the vodka and about three tablespoons of ice water to start over the mixture and mix it up with the rubber spatula. If necessary, add more ice water. You don’t want the dough to be wet, but you don’t want any loose, powdery flour in the bowl either.
Knead the dough gently once or twice and divide into two balls. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
Preheat over to 400 degrees F.
Add the fruit, sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest and juice to a large mixing bowl and mix until combined. Use either your hands or a wooden spoon, but don’t squish the fruit.
Using a fork, whisk together the egg and water to create a wash. Set aside for brushing once the galette is assembled.
To assemble to galette, roll out the dough between two pieces of lightly floured parchment paper to a 13 inch round of even thickness, rotating the dough as your roll. Place on baking sheet with parchment underneath.
Combine ingredients for the filling, and heap into the middle of the pie crust. You could be decorative with the slices if you want, but I left mine a jumble.
Use your hand to gently fold the edges of the pie dough around the fruit filling, pressing lightly to seal and crimp the edges. Brush the egg wash mixture on the pie crust and sprinkle with some coarse sugar.
Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes, until crust is golden brown.
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