Free form pastry is a big summer wink: it looks and tastes as if you’ve been in the kitchen for hours, teasing out the perfect flaky bite.
Ha.
We know better, we lovers of galettes or crostatas or juicy, not-too-sweet summer bites of berry goodness. Whatever we call it, it’s packed in the picnic basket as we speak, if it makes it that far.
Strawberry Rhubarb Galette (yes, it’s one of many seasonal recipes in my book)
This recipe is enough for two large free-form tarts, each serving about 6.
You can also choose to make smaller galettes. Divide the dough up as you like.
What you need:
For pastry:
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2 cups all purpose flour
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¼ cup sugar
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½ tsp kosher salt
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I cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter:very, very cold. Tip: Cut it up into small chunks and put it in your freezer for 10 minutes.
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1/3 cup ice water
For filling:
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4 cups rhubarb, sliced into ½ inch chunks
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2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
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½ cup sugar-if your berries are fresh and sweet. I like the sweet to come from natural sugar in the fruit but if you aren’t sure, you can add a little more sugar.
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¼ cup dried cranberries
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3 tablespoons all purpose flour
For glaze:
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1 egg yolk
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1 tablespoon whipping cream
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2 teaspoons sugar
What you do:
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Place flour, sugar, and salt in food processor. Pulse briefly.
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Add the very cold chunks of butter. With rubber spatula, toss once or twice to make sure they are coated with flour.
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Pulse several times until mixture is broken into sand-like crumbles.
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With motor running, add ice water through the feed tube. Depending on the humidity in your house, the amount of water may vary. Start with ¼ cup and drizzle it into the top of the processor as you are pulsing. DO NOT OVER PULSE THE DOUGH. You want it to just come together. What does this mean? Try to bring it together, with gentle hands—don’t start rolling it around!— to form a ball. If it doesn’t, you’ll need more water.
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Dump the dough into a large mixing bowl sprinkled with a little flour. Form it into a ball. Cut it into two pieces.
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Insert each dough piece between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap and roll gently with a rolling pin. This will make it easier later to roll out. Put in fridge for an hour while you make the filling.
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For filling, combine berries, rhubarb, and cranberries with sugar and then toss with flour.
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Preheat oven to 425 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Roll out each disc on floured board. If making 2 larger tarts, make two circles. If making 8 galettes, divide each disc into 4 pieces and roll them out to small pieces. Don’t be too fussed about shape. That’s the point of this: it’s free form!
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Place the filling on top of each pastry circle, leaving a 1 ½ inch border around the edges. Fold up your pastry over the fruit anyway you like, leaving it open in the centre.
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Beat egg yolk with the cream. Brush over edges of pastry. Sprinkle with sugar.
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Place on baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. The key? Bubbling juices and tender fruit. You may need to cook longer, depending on your oven.
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Let them cool on pans for 10 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool. Serve warm or pack them up, once cooled, in your fridge for breakfast treat the next morning. Even better, bring them out at your next picnic.
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