Tag: galette

Fruit-Filled Mini Galettes

August 23, 2015 / Jenny / 14 Comments

Blueberries, peaches, and plums are in season here right now, and they are such a summer treat. When fruit is this fresh, I like to keep it simple, allowing the flavors of the fruit to shine: a little bit of sugar to sweeten it, a little bit of flour to thicken it, and a delicious dough to wrap around the fruit like a hug. Fifteen minutes in the oven, and you have some miniature galettes, perfect for dessert. Or breakfast. We had them for breakfast yesterday morning, enjoying a sunny Saturday morning on the porch.

I am still enamored with making galettes, and the mini galettes are fun, because you can individualize them. I made some with just blueberry filling, and some with a peach-plum filling, using the fruit we had on hand. Four cups of any kind of fruit will work, and you can mix and match as you please. Making dough is therapeutic for me, and the dough for these galettes is a simple pie dough, cut into smaller squares. I love the fact that galettes are not expected to look perfect or fancy–the folds of dough can be uneven and the fruit can bubble over, and it tastes just fabulous.

Change is in the air, as summer has a tiny hint of fall, and our schedules are soon about to get a lot more regimented and full. We are squeezing in our summer wishes. This weekend we have been visiting with cousins and aunts and uncles we don’t get to see often, and that has been wonderful and poignant. As we watched all of our children running around together yesterday afternoon, climbing trees and playing ball, we remembered summers when we were children together, running around wild and free in that same yard, climbing some of the same trees (though they are much bigger now). Time passes and our worlds stretch, as we all grow and experience new things, find our different ways, and bring new people into the family. It is all good, but we are not able to see each other like we used to. It is bittersweet, just like the end of August.

However, these mini galettes are just sweet–nothing bitter about them. That is probably why I made them. There is comfort in making sweet things. I cannot control much of what happens, but in my little baking world, I can create sweetness for myself and others, and think about loved ones and memories. If you are looking for a way to use some summer fruit, these miniature galettes are a great way to do it. I hope you have a wonderful week!

Fruit-Filled Mini Galettes

Servings: 8 mini galettes
Time: about 35-40 minues
Print

Ingredients:

For the blueberry filling:

2 cups of fresh blueberries
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of flour

For the peach-plum filling:

1 cup of fresh peaches, peeled and chopped
1 cup of fresh plums, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of flour

For the crusts:

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 to 7 tablespoons of cold water

For the egg wash:

One egg, beaten
1 tablespoon water

Directions:

Wash and prepare the fruit. In one small bowl, mix the blueberries, sugar and flour. In another small bowl, mix the peaches, plums, sugar and flour. Feel free to mix and match with different fruit if desired.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Gradually cut in the butter with a fork or a pastry cutter, combining until the mixture has the consistency of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the cold water over the dough, and gently toss with a fork. Repeat until the dough is moistened, but not slimy. If you add too much water, add a little flour. Work the water through until the dough is a nice, soft texture, but don’t over-mix. Divide the dough in half, forming two balls. On a lightly floured surface, flatten one of the balls of dough with your hand. Roll the dough from the center to the edges, forming a rough square of about 12 inches around. Gently cut the dough into four smaller squares. Roll each smaller square to about 6 inches by 6 inches. Place one-fourth of the blueberry mixture in the center of each of the four squares, leaving an inch or two of dough around the edges. Gently fold the edges around the fruit, pleating all the way around the edges. Repeat with the the rest of the squares. Then repeat the process with the second ball of dough, making four 6 inch squares and filling each square with one-fourth of the peach-plum mixture, and folding and pleating the edges. Place the galettes on the baking sheets.

In a small bowl, beat the egg and add the tablespoon of water. With a pastry brush, brush the edges of the crusts with the egg wash.

Bake in a 425-degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the crusts are lightly golden and the fruit is bubbly. Enjoy!

Asparagus Galette

June 4, 2015 / Jenny / 10 Comments

Fresh, tender asparagus roasted with a mixture of cheeses and a hint of garlic, surrounded by a warm, nourishing crust. If that sounds good to you, then you should give this recipe a try, because that is what I think of when I make this asparagus galette. I love the fact that you can put almost any vegetable or fruit in a galette. It is such a great way to take seasonal produce and turn it into a light meal. With asparagus season in full swing here, an asparagus galette was inevitably going to happen in this kitchen. The recipe I am sharing below is based on a conglomeration of the countless galette recipes out there in the world. Many savory galette recipes are interchangeable, once you have a basic amount of cheese and vegetables. The fun is in the creative part–adjusting the types of cheeses, seasonings, and choosing the freshest vegetables available.

As far as the crust goes, I enjoy making my own, and will include one of my favorite crust recipes. Feel free to use your own favorite pie crust recipe. If you are super-short on time, a store-bought crust works fine too. I personally love the feeling of taking very separate ingredients and mixing them together to form a dough that holds together, even when stretched and shaped. It gives me great satisfaction, like I am creating something out of nothing, and as I have mentioned before, I feel like I am connecting with ancestors and previous generations of bakers when I get out my flour canister and rolling pin. When I am baking, I feel like my kitchen becomes a sacred space, outside of time and place.

That is kind of how I feel when I go biking as well, and with the weather so gorgeous the last few days, I have gotten out on my bike a few times. The jump from baking to biking is just one letter, and both activities take me outside of normal space and time. Anyone who knows me knows I tend to be a bit of a worrier, but with biking, as with baking, I feel like I can leave my usual self behind. I can bike fast enough so that my worries cannot catch up to me, and I am one with the breeze and the trees. Luckily, there is a lovely country road near our house that is not at all busy, and I can ride down that road and encounter more birds than I do cars.

Asparagus season, the beginning of biking season, the beginning of June. The leaves are full, the butterflies are out, and I have even seen some dragonflies. The cherries and black raspberries are looking promising this year. It is warm and fresh and bright outside. My grandfather liked to quote poetry, and on days like these, perfect June days, he would often quote parts of a James Russell Lowell poem: “And what is so rare as a day in June?/Then, if ever, come perfect days….Now is the high-tide of the year/And whatever of life hath ebbed away/comes flooding back with a ripply cheer.” Enjoy the lovely June day, and have a great weekend!

Asparagus Galette

Servings: 2 hungry people, or 4 less hungry people
Time: about 20 minutes preparation, 30 minutes for baking
Print

Ingredients:

For the crust

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup milk

For the filling

1/2 to 3/4 pounds fresh asparagus
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Feta
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon, plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

Preheat your over to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix up your pie crust dough. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the flour and the salt. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the canola oil and the milk, then pour gradually into the flour mixture. Gently stir with a fork or pastry cutter until a dough forms. Divide the dough in two equal-sized balls. (If you do this ahead of time, it can be stored, covered in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for a few hours. Just let it warm to about room temperature before rolling it out). Spread some wax paper on a work surface, and lightly flour the paper. Flatten one of the balls of dough with your hand as much as you can. Then use a rolling pin, rolling from the center of the dough, and roll out a circle of about 12 inches in diameter. If your edges get ragged or torn, patch them together or trim them so they are somewhat uniform. Spread a sheet of parchment paper on a heavy baking sheet. Gently roll the dough onto your floured rolling pin, and gently unroll it onto the parchment papered baking sheet. Patch any dough that tears.

Wash and pat dry the asparagus. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese, Feta, and mozzarella cheese. Toss with one teaspoon of the olive oil. In a different small bowl, combine the two tablespoons of olive oil and the minced garlic. Transfer the cheese mixture to the crust on the baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, leaving a 2 inch border around the edges. Then lay the asparagus spears side-by-side on top of the cheese mixture. Sprinkle with the olive oil-garlic mixture. Fold and pleat the edges of the dough up and over the outer edge of the filling, all the way around. Bake in a 400-degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden-brown. Enjoy!

Note: I use the other ball of dough to make a second galette, the same as the first one, since people in my family have big appetites. If you are making only one galette, store the other ball of dough in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or the freezer for up to 3 weeks (depending on how soon you will use it), and use it for another dish.

Broccoli and Feta Galette

May 1, 2015 / Jenny / 4 Comments

Galette is such a festive, pretty word. It is a French word, so for me it immediately elevates a dish to a certain level of sophistication. Yet a galette is a rustic dish, not fancy or intricate. I like to think that serving a galette evokes an atmosphere of rustic elegance. Sometimes it feels good to make something that feels special, but that’s very practical and healthy at the same time. Galettes can be sweet or savory, and there are endless variations one can create with the filling.

The recipe I am sharing here is based on one I found in the current issue of Real Simple magazine, though I made some changes to it to suit my family’s tastes. The roasted broccoli mixed with the creamy melted Feta gives the filling such a delicious flavor, and the hearty wrap-around crust turns it into a meal. I like to make my own crust for a galette, and it is basically the same as a pie crust. If you are looking for a good pie crust recipe, I posted one last spring and you can click on the above pie crust recipe link to find it. (That recipe is for a double crust, and a galette needs only a single crust, so I like to refrigerate or freeze the dough for the second crust to use in the future–making the next galette just got even easier!) If you are short on time, or if you just don’t enjoy making pie crusts, you can also use a store-bought pie crust. Basically, all you have to do for this recipe is prepare the crust, chop and saute the vegetables, add the cheeses, and assemble the galette. While it is baking, you have time to make a salad or another side dish if you wish.

We have had some pretty rushed dinners these last couple of weeks, due to our busy spring schedule. When I made this galette yesterday, it felt good to put a little extra effort into choosing the meal and making it. It felt good to put some joy back into the meal-making process, and that joy transferred to those eating the meal. Though we were still somewhat rushed to get to soccer practice after dinner, there was a sacred bubble of time when my husband, kids, and I were all together in the kitchen and dining room, enjoying our food in an atmosphere of comfort and rustic elegance.

Happy May Day, I hope you all have a great weekend!

Broccoli and Feta Galette

Servings: 2 very hungry people, or 4 moderately hungry people
Time: about 20 minutes preparation, plus about 30 minutes for baking time
Print

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup of onion, sliced
salt and pepper
1 medium-to-small head of broccoli, chopped
3/4 cup of crumbled Feta cheese
1 standard-sized pie crust
1 to 2 cups (depending on your taste) shredded Parmesan cheese
1 to 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Directions:

If you are making your own crust, mix up the dough. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet or pot. Add the onions and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Cook the onions, stirring now and then, until they are soft and golden, about 7 or so minutes. Add the broccoli and half of the Feta and stir to combine.

While the onions are cooking, roll out the pie crust into a circle about 14 inches in diameter. (I roll my pie crusts out on floured wax paper–they stick less and are easier to transfer that way). Roll the crust back onto the rolling pin and gently transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Spread the minced garlic and Parmesan cheese evenly onto the pie crust, leaving a 2 inch border around the edges. Then spoon the broccoli mixture onto the pie crust, keeping the same border. Gently fold the edges of the pie crust over toward the center, pleating and folding all the way around, covering the filling by about an inch. Sprinkle the remaining Feta on top of the filling. Bake in the oven about 30 minutes, or until the galette is golden brown. Serve with a green salad or another side dish. Enjoy!

This recipe is based on one found in the May 2015 issue of Real Simple magazine.