Sweet, juicy blueberries. Zippy lemon zest. Flaky French pastry dough. Can you blame me for falling in love with this gorgeous galette? My step-by-step recipe:
A brief note: After I made the galette, I gave one small slice to my friend Brenda for taste-testing. She swooned, and proclaimed the galette "a winner." I blushed with pride.
And what happened to the remaining dessert? Well, it simply...vanished.
In France, "vanished" is pronounced "oink."
To start, make a batch of Perfect Sweet Tart Dough. This will take you all of 30 seconds if you have a food processor. Here's the simple recipe.
Roll the pastry into a 13-inch-diameter circle on a lightly-floured surface. A French rolling pin is your friend here.
Do you own a French rolling pin? If not, get thee one. The gadget's tapered shape will allow you to roll out perfect circles of dough. I ordered my pin from this online source.
With a song in your heart, transfer the pastry to a rimless, parchment-lined baking sheet. Then pop the works in the fridge while you make the filling.
The filling: Put 2 pints (4 cups) of blueberries in a bowl, and sprinkle them with 1/2 cup sugar.
To thicken the juices just a little, add 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch.
Then add the zest of 1 lemon...
And gently stir with a yellow spatula.
Now taste a blueberry. Is it sweet enough for you? If not, add 1 or 2 extra tablespoons of sugar.
This next step will make all the difference between a too-juicy galette, and a just-juicy-enough galette: Sprinkle 2 tablespoons instant tapioca on the crust, leaving a 1 1/2 border all around. (Tapioca absorbs liquid like nobody's business.)
Mound the berry mixture in the center of the dough, and then spread it out to within 1 1/2 inches of the edge.
And then...
Fold the edge over the fruit, making pleats as you go.
Now paint the galette's edge with some beaten egg...
And sprinkle the edge with sugar. Demerara sugar (above) will add sheen and crunch, but in a pinch you can use plain ole granulated sugar.
Bake on the center rack of a preheated 425°F oven until the crust is bronze and beautiful -- about 25 minutes.
Wanna taste?
Put a wedge of galette on a plate...
Add some whipped cream and a sprig of mint, and then dive right in!
Well. I hope you're drooling right now.
Think you'll try this purple poetry? Talk to me in the comments field below.
And here, for your convenience, is a copy-and-paste version of the above:
Blueberry Galette
Kevin Lee Jacobs (www.kevinleejacobs.com)
Ingredients for 1 galette, or 4-6 servings
Sweet Tart Pastry Dough (click here for recipe)
4 cups (2 pints) blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
The grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons instant tapioca (to absorb liquid)
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon Demerara sugar, for sprinkling (or, use regular granulated sugar)
Center the oven rack; preheat the oven to 425°F
On a lightly-floured surface, roll the dough into a 13-inch circle. Transfer the dough to a rimless, parchment-lined baking sheet, and let it chill in the fridge while you prepare the blueberry filling.
Put the blueberries in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the berries with the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and lemon zest. Stir gently with a spatula to coat.
Sprinkle the tapioca granules over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border all around. Tapioca will insure the galette isn't runny with juice.
Mound the berry mixture onto the round of pastry dough, and then spread it out, with a spatula, to within 1 1/2 inches of the edge. Fold the edge over the filling, making pleats as you go. Brush the edge with the beaten egg, and give it a sprinkling of Demerara sugar.
Bake until the crust is beautifully bronzed -- about 25 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature, with or without whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Don't miss anything at A Garden for the House...sign up for Kevin's email updates!
Looking for more blueberry recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
Blueberry Bars (perfect for a picnic!)
Frozen Blueberry Yogurt Pie
Berry Buckle
↧