Summer may be drawing to a close, but that doesn’t mean you can’t squeeze the most out of it with a galette filled with some summer fruits. I stumbled upon this recipe from NYT Cooking, and the perfect opportunity to make this came toward the end of intern year. One of the Medicine residents had mentioned wanting to go berry picking. I told her that that sounded amazing! I grew up berry picking with my mom and grandma in Portland with my siblings and cousins. So many fun memories of being out in the berry fields, filling our hallocks and flats along with our stomachs with fresh Oregon strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, and marionberries, to name a few. Later in the summer, we would also pick peaches. All of the kids would climb the trees to get the high-hanging fruit, and Papa would be waiting below with his trusty pocket knife, ready to peel, cut and distribute pieces of the sweet fruit.
So, naturally, I said yes to an invitation to go berry picking. We headed out to a farm about 50 minutes outside of DC. I picked 12 pounds of blueberries and about 4 pounds of black raspberries. They were all so good. I am perfectly content eating a bowl of fresh berries, especially blueberries. To make them last longer, I usually freeze the blueberries in a large freezer bag, then I will just pull out a cup of them at a time and eat them frozen. However, I knew that I also wanted to try this recipe. I had made galettes in the past, primarily with rhubarb from my parents’ backyard, but had never made a blueberry and nectarine galette. I brought it along to a brunch hosted by one of our Neurology chief residents, and it was a huge hit. I have to admit, it was quite delicious. The pairing of the stone fruit and blueberries was not something I would have thought to pair together, but they paired really well together, enhanced by the vanilla and little bit of lemon. One question I got asked a lot was, “but what is a galette?” I describe it as a rustic free-form pie. It’s essentially pie crust that is filled with pie filling but baked on a flat sheet, rather than in a pie crust. However you choose to describe them, they are both simple and tasty to taste.
Blueberry & Nectarine Galette
This really can serve as a template for really any kind of berry galette. I made another one with the black raspberries that we also picked at the farm and it also turned out great. In the future, I was thinking about experimenting with other stone fruit like apricots or peaches. One thing I will stress is the importance of the flour in the filling, as this helps the juice to thicken. I was in a rush on one of the times I made this and forgot it, so the filling ended up not thickening quite as well, which lead to it leaking out of the galette and all over the pan…it was a big mess.
Pastry:
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 2-4 tablespoons ice water
In a food processor, pulse the flour and salt for the pastry together. Add the butter and pulse just until the butter pieces have been cut to small pea-sized pebbles that are coated with flour. Avoid pulsing too much as this warms the butter and causes the flour to absorb the moisture. What we are really going for here is ice-cold pieces of butter that are coated in flour, thus when it is rolled out and baked, the butter will melt creating very small pockets, which lead to a flaky crust. Slowly add the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time while pulsing the food processor. The dough should really just start to come together. It may look dry, but you can test it by squeezing a clump in your fingers and if it holds its shape then it has had enough water added. Turn this out onto a lightly floured work surface. I use a large Silpat that my mom got me for Christmas, as it does not require quite as much flour and is non-stick. Bring all of the dough together into a ball and then flatten with the heel of your hand. Again, avoid overworking it, as your hands will warm the butter and lead to a less flaky pastry. Wrap this disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This can also be made a few days ahead.
Filling & finishing:
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon flour
- Two pinches salt, divided
- 2 nectarines, pitted and sliced into 1/2″ slices
- 1 1/4 cups blueberries
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 egg, beaten
- Turbinado sugar
While the pastry is resting in the fridge, in a large bowl add the sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extra, mixing with a fork until all of the vanilla has been distributed evenly with the sugar. You may need to add a couple tablespoons of sugar, depending on how sweet your fruit is. Add the flour and a pinch of salt and stir to combine. Add the nectarines, blueberries, and lemon juice, but don’t combine just yet.
When the disk has been chilled for at least an hour, remove it from the plastic wrap, and on a lightly floured surface, roll the disk out to about 12″ in diameter and about 1/4-inch thickness. Transfer the pastry to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat. Gently fold the fruit mixture to coat all of the fruit with the sugar mixture. Pour this into the middle of the pastry in a large heap and then gently spread the fruit out, leaving a 2-inch border around the edge. Starting on one side and slowly working your way around, gently fold over the edge of the pastry. Press firmly especially at the folds to prevent any areas that may allow juices to leak. Place the baking sheet and galette into the fridge and preheat the oven to 400 °F. When the oven is preheated, about 10-15 minutes, remove the galette, brush the pastry with the beaten egg, and sprinkle with the remaining pinch of salt and the turbinado sugar to taste. Bake on the middle or lower rack depending on your oven. After about 45 minutes the galette will be golden brown and the fruit juices will have thickened and start bubbling. Remove from the oven and let it cool for at least 15 minutes, as this will allow the juice to thicken more. Cut into wedges and serve with fresh whipped cream, a scoop of ice cream, or just on its own.
