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Easy Plum-Almond Galette

Easy Plum-Almond Galette

By Barbara Beltrami

In the heart of summer when fresh stone fruit and all kinds of berries beckon to us, it’s the season for putting them in galettes, pies and tarts and letting their sweet and slightly tannic juices tease and please our palates. It really doesn’t matter whether you turn them into a beautifully domed two crust pie or arrange them over a pate brisee in a tart pan or scatter them over a free form galette crust. You’ll still have that incomparable combination of flaky pastry crust and jewel-hued fresh fruit. And of course, in the following recipes the fruits and preparations are interchangeable as long as you adhere to the measurements, so go ahead and do it your way.

Easy Plum-Almond Galette

Easy Plum-Almond Galette

YIELD: Makes 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

For the pastry:

1 1/2 cups flour

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter cut into pieces

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup ice water

For the filling:

1/4 cup + 1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup ground almonds

3 tablespoons flour

2 1/2 pounds plums, washed, halved, pitted and cut into half-inch wedges

3 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into tiny pieces

1/2 cup currant jelly, melted

DIRECTIONS:

For the pastry:

Place flour, butter and salt in bowl of electric food processor; pulse a few times just to blend; add ice water and pulse another few times until dough pulls together and you can still see little pieces of butter. Remove dough from processor, shape into a ball and on a lightly floured surface roll into an oval or circle about 16 to 18″ across and one-eighth-inch thick. Gently transfer to baking sheet. Chill 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F.

For the filling:

In medium bowl combine a 1/4 cup of sugar, almonds and flour and spread evenly over galette pastry. Arrange plum slices in pattern over flour mixture; dot with butter and sprinkle with remaining one-third cup sugar but leave a two-inch border around edges. Gently fold or roll edges of dough up to meet and form a little wall at edges of fruit. Bake until crust is a deep golden and fruit is tender and bubbling, about one hour. Gently slide knife or spatula under crust to release it from any juices that have caused it to stick. Brush top of fruit and edges of crust with currant jelly. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche.

Basic Blueberry Tart

Basic Blueberry Tart

YIELD: Makes one 8-inch tart.

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup flour

Pinch salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 quart blueberries, rinsed and picked over

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon flour

Confectioners’ sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 F. In bowl of food processor combine butter, the cup of flour, salt, sugar and vinegar. Pulse until dough comes together but is still pasty. Press evenly into eight-inch spring form tart pan.  Reserve two-thirds cup of berries, then in large bowl combine remaining berries, the one-third cup sugar and tablespoon flour. Pour evenly into tart crust. Bake until filling is bubbly and crust is golden, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool, remove from tart pan and sprinkle top with reserved fresh blueberries. Dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired. Serve at room temperature with whipped cream.

Jenny’s Peach Pie

Jenny’s Peach Pie

YIELD: Makes 6 to 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:

For the pastry:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, diced

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 egg yolk, beaten

1 teaspoon white or cider vinegar

1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:

6 to 8 ripe peaches, sliced (do not peel)

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

DIRECTIONS:

To prepare the crusts, in a food processor pulse together the flour, butter and salt until mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk, vinegar and ice water; sprinkle four tablespoons mixture over flour mixture and pulse; if dough does not hold together sprinkle remaining liquid and pulse again.

On a lightly floured surface gather the dough into a ball and knead a few times. Divide dough in half, enclose in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.

Meanwhile prepare the filling. In a large bowl combine the peaches, lemon juice,  sugar and flour. Preheat oven to 425 F. On a lightly floured surface shape one ball of chilled dough into a disc, then roll out and place in a 9-inch pie plate. Add filling; shape second ball of dough into a disc and roll out; gently center on top of filling. Trim pastry edges and crimp together.

Place in oven for 15 minutes at 425 F, then reduce heat to 375 F and continue to bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbly, about another 40 minutes. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature with peach ice cream.