Lemon Thyme and Ginger

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette reicpe

There is nothing like eating a fresh ripe nectarine or any ripe fruit for that matter. Its sweet perfume and the soft give of its’ flesh, informs me that I am holding a delicious and ripe nectarine. I love the warm colors. Each nectarine has a unique and variegated mosaic of rich sunset colors. No two nectarines are the same. The bright perfume and one bite will tell you just how ripe the nectarine is. As the juice drips down my chin and elbow I forego all good manners just to get every drop of its sweet juice. To eat a fresh ripe nectarine, is tasting the fruit at its brightest and sweetest. I am in awe of Mother Earth and her many nourishing gifts.

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette reicpe

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette recipe

Fresh fruit is refreshing and delicious, but sometimes extra preparation and cooking will reward you with a sweeter and more concentrated fruit-filled flavor.  A simple baked fruit tart is an easy and delicious choice for a summer dessert.  One of my favorite baked fruit dessert is a galette. The free form structure of a fruit galette is just my style. I love pie, but I am never satisfied with how mine look. I feel a lot of pressure to present a pristine and detailed pie crust without any flaws. Whenever I try to make a pie, I feel like my fingers just get in the way and I lack the extra-fine motor skills to perform such neat and detailed work. I know practice makes perfect, but the simplicity and informality of a galette appeals to me.

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette reicpe

 

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette recipe

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette recipe
Tips for Success making Fruit Galette

For the crust, I prefer all butter pastry dough. It makes pie crust with a sweet buttery flavor and a delicate and flaky crust. Additionally, I add whole wheat flour to the mix. Whole wheat flour brings a nutty flavor to the crust and gives the crust a deeper golden-brown color. I have found that the ratio of two parts all-purpose flour to one part whole wheat flour, is a nice blend. You get some whole grain, but the crust is not dry or heavy. If you are not a fan of whole wheat it is easy to substitute the flour, (spelt flour is popular now) using the same ratio of 2 to 1, or make the crust with only all-purpose flour.

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette reicpe

The tricky part making pastry dough is knowing what the dough should look and feel like. Avoid any desire to mix and mix and mix once you add the water. Over handling the dough will create a tough galette crust. When making pastry dough, keep this simple philosophy in mind – less is more. The dough should feel moist, not wet and sticky, and the dough will just hold together without dry crumbly parts. Ideally, you will notice streaks of butter smeared throughout the prepared galette dough. These little blobs of butter help create a light and flaky crust.

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette recipe

A couple of years ago I started making pie/galette dough by hand. I started this because my food processor stopped working. It gets me so mad because they are expensive machines and of course they break just after the warranty expires. Push button technology should last longer than one year. Fortunately, my anger and frustration over my food processor quickly subsides while I gently knead the butter and flour with my fingers.

Video from King Author Flour: How to roll Pie Dough

Working with my hands is both efficient and effective and it’s also therapeutic. The soft and silky touch of flour is so relaxing and soothing, that mixing pie dough makes me feel like a kid again. It’s difficult to stay mad or stressed out when your hands are smearing flour and butter together. I find mixing pastry dough by hand a calming and fun sensation, and any tension just disappears. Besides that, I believe our hands make the best tools.  We can read a lot of important clues when touching our food with our hands.

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette recipe

Use the galette dough recipe as a guide for how much water to add. Real time and place conditions affect how the dough comes together and bakes. Whenever I add water to a pastry dough mixture I start with less water than specified, (I usually start with 3 tablespoons) then after kneading the water in, I add more water one tablespoon at a time until I have reached the correct consistency.  It is much easier to add water to dry dough, than fix pastry dough that is too wet. Just start with less and gradually add more until you think it is perfect.

Menu ideas to pair with Nectarine and Blueberry Galette

Crudité with Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Grilled Sherry Marinated Flank Steak

Asparagus with Orange Mayonnaise Dressing

Galette for Every Season

Galette desserts are like pies without the crimping, placing, shaping, designing, and a pie pan. They are an easy, relaxed, go with the flow type of dessert. Just how an evening with friends or family should be. Nectarine and Blueberry Galette is an easy fruit dessert recipe to make, especially if you make the galette dough ahead of time to fit into your schedule.

I love how simple it is to adapt the filling of a galette to coincide with the seasonal produce. Some of my favorite fruit galettes combinations include, nectarine and cherry, peach and lemon thyme, plums and mixed berries, and apple and fresh rosemary. Additionally, savory galettes made with a variety of vegetables and herbs are equally delicious as dessert ones. Have fun and experiment with your favorite fruit or vegetable combinations.

Summer fruit desserts are easy to make and elegant at the same time. This nectarine and blueberry galette is a delicious dessert recipe that will delight your friends and family.

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette recipe

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Nectarine and Blueberry Galette recipe

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette is an easy summer dessert that will delight your friends and family. Use this recipe as a base and adapt it using any stone fruit and/or berries for a delicious summer fruit galette.
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings 6 -8 servings
Author Ginger

Ingredients

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette

Pie dough

  • 1 cup/ 4 1/4 oz/ 137 g all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup / 2 1/2 oz/ 70 g whole wheat flour see note
  • 8 TB/ 1/2 cup/ 4 oz/ 113.4 g unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup about 50 ml ice water
  • 1 TB sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Fruit filling

  • 1 1/2 lbs/ shy 700 g ripe nectarines about 4-5 medium nectarines
  • 1/2 lb/ 220 g about 1 3/4 cups blueberries
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • Fresh squeezed lemon juice from one lemon
  • 1/2 cup / 3 3/4 oz / 108 g sugar
  • 2 - 3 TB cornstarch
  • 4 dried apricots (optional see note)
  • 2 TB 26 g melted unsalted butter
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
  • *The fruit filling will equal between 4 -5 cups in volume or around 1 liter

Instructions

Pie Dough

  1. Keep the butter in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
  2. Add the flours salt and sugar in a medium mixing bowl and stir to combine.
  3. Cut the stick of butter into small pieces about 1/4" to 1/2" or 1 cm sized pieces. Add the chopped butter into the flour mixture.
  4. **If you have a food processor and want to use that instead of your hands feel free to do so. Use the same visual clues stated below at each step. Be careful not to over mix the dough and take it out of the food processor before it is completely ready. Dump the dough mixture on a clean countertop and easily smush together the dough to form a ball. Flatten the galette dough into a disk.
  5. Using your hands, mix the butter and flour together until the mixture looks like coarse and uneven sand, the size of peas. Use your fingertips to help smear the butter and flour together.
  6. Add 3 TB cold water and lightly knead the flour and butter with your hand. Add more water to the butter-flour mixture, 1 TB at a time. You have added enough water when you gently squeeze the dough together and it just holds its shape. The galette dough should be moist but not sticky. Handle the galette dough as little as possible to keep the butter cold and not overwork the dough.
  7. Plop the galette dough on a clean countertop and form into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 24 hours.
  8. The pie dough can be kept in the freezer for 3 months. Make sure is tightly wrapped in several layers of plastic wrap to keep out any moisture. Next time you want to make a galette, defrost the galette dough in the refrigerator 24 hours in advance.

Making the galette

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
  2. Prepare a large sheet pan by covering it with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
  3. After the pastry dough has rested in the refrigerator for at least one hour, take it out and place on a clean and lightly floured counter top. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the galette dough out to a 13-inch circle (33 cm), about a 1/4" (5 mm) thick. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes if it is not easily rolling into shape. To get a nice even circle, begin rolling from the center out in one direction. Do not roll back and forth. After one roll, turn the dough clockwise from 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock. Repeat. Also, occasionally turn the dough over from top to bottom. This helps prevent sticking and makes an even shape.
  4. Move the dough to your sheet pan. Lift the top third of the galette dough and drape it over the rolling pin, then lift the rolling pin with the dough and place it centered on the prepared sheet pan. Put the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare the fruit filling.

Fruit filling

  1. Cut the nectarines in half, then cut each half in thirds or quarters depending on the size of the fruit. It is best to have the fruit slices about 1/2-inch wide, (12 mm).
  2. Add the sliced fruit to a medium mixing bowl, then add the cleaned blueberries.
  3. Slice each dried apricot into 1/4-inch (8 mm) pieces, then add the apricots to the bowl with the fruit.
  4. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice to the fruit, then add the sugar and cornstarch. Carefully mix the fruit until evenly combined and the fruit looks glossy.
  5. Take the baking sheet with the galette dough out of the refrigerator and place on the counter.
  6. Pour the fruit mixture onto the center of the galette dough, leaving a 2-inch (5 cm) border of pastry dough around the fruit. Adjust the fruit filling to be centered on the galette dough.
  7. Fold the rim of the galette dough over the fruit filling and crimp the dough together to make it lay flat over the fruit filling.
  8. Baste the rim of the galette dough with the melted butter, then pour any extra butter over the fruit filling.
  9. Sprinkle sugar around the rim of the galette.
  10. Place the galette on the center rack in a preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes or until the juices are very bubbly. The juices of the fruit filling should be vigorously bubbling and the crust evenly browned when it is done.
  11. Once done, place the baking sheet with the galette on a cooling rack and completely cool.
  12. When cooled, using a large spatula, loosen the galette from the parchment paper. Lift the parchment paper with the galette off the baking sheet, supporting the galette with your hand or spatula and place on your serving plate. Carefully pull out the parchment paper from underneath the galette on the serving plate using the spatula as support.
  13. Serve the galette at room temperature.
  14. Fruit galettes are best eaten the same day it is made.

Recipe Notes

I started adding dried apricots to stone fruit galettes when I made a fresh apricot and cherry galette. At the time, I was not sure all my fresh apricots were sweet and ripe. I decided to add some dried apricots to help boost the flavor. The flavor of the apricot and cherry galette was perfect. The dried apricots were a great addition.
There is a subtle apricot flavor in the nectarine and blueberry galette, but it will not overwhelm the nectarines and blueberries. The added bonus of using dried apricots, or any dried fruit, is it absorbs some of the liquid from the fruit.

If you have whole wheat pastry flour you can use that for the whole wheat flour.

© 2017 – 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.

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