Plum and Pine Nut Galette

The damson and black plums for this tart were piled high at the farmers’ market last weekend, along with a few green and red varieties and the bare beginnings of Maine’s apple season. While the start of summer drives me rather nuts with desperation about which juicy fruits to get my deprived hands on first, the fall transition has a lovely sort of ceremonious appeal--measured and familiar, instead of rushed. We’re expecting pears this weekend at the market, along with spinach, gourds, and more apples, and it’s that even rolling out of fall fruits that keeps me motivated to bake with produce before bourbon, custards, and creams totally take over for the winter.

This galette is a lovely end-of-summer ode. The fruit is beautiful and barely sweetened, and the pine nuts add a bit of savory depth and a toasty crunch. If you have a tart dough waiting in the wings already, then it comes together in just a few easy steps too, perfect for when the new, wonderful WWOOFer is distracting you with stories of Labrador or when Dave is laying the smackdown about dishes. And while it’s hot, hot, hot everywhere and folks are lamenting the use of the oven this time of year, it’s starting to cool off here and I’m a complete sucker for baking fruit to its juiciest peak anyway. For the next few weeks it’ll be a toss-up between plums and pears around here, but it’s a late summer dilemma that brings out some of my favorite kinds of baked goods.

Plum Pine Nut Galette

Adapted significantly from Gourmet (1999!)

For the Crust
From Apt. 2B Baking Co. and I Made That!

Makes enough for two, but you’ll only need one for this recipe. Feel free to substitute in your favorite crust recipe instead!

12 ounces pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
8 ounces (two sticks) very cold butter
4 to 6 ounces ice water
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1.  On a clean counter, dump your flour and salt; mix it around with a bench scraper. Chop one stick of butter into quarters, and cut it into the four with your bench scraper. When butter is about the size of lima beans, cut in the second stick, pulling, folding, and tossing with the bench scraper as you go, until the butter is about the size of quarters. Add the vinegar to the ice water.

2. Using your fingers, flick the water onto the butter-flour mixture, gently folding with the bench scraper all the while. You have added enough water once the mixture holds together when squeezed; it should be very shaggy.

3. Next, push the butter into the flour. Using the heel of your palm, push a small section of the dough down and away from you; this creates long layers of butter in your dough, which translates to long flaky layers in your crust. Use your bench scraper to scrape up the smear, and put it a bowl. Repeat until all the dough has been smeared and you have a bowlful of long, buttery layers. Push these into one mass, divide in half, wrap each in plastic, flatten into disks, and chill at least two hours, or better yet overnight.

For the Filling
2.5 pounds plums of your choosing
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup demerara sugar, divided
1 egg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces
1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out your pie dough to a 14- or 15-inch circle. Trim the edges so they’re even, slide onto a piece of parchment paper on the back of a cookie sheet, and pop into the freezer while you prepare the rest of your ingredients. This cooling step will help you fold or pleat the dough more easily in a bit.

2.  Cut the plums into half-inch slices. I cut some of my plums into quarters and the bigger ones into sixths, so it just depends on your plum size. Set aside. In a food processor, grind the toasted pine nuts with the flour and just two tablespoons of the demerara sugar. Mixture should be finely ground, but not powdered.  

3.  Remove the dough round from the freezer and, leaving it on the back of the cookie sheet, spread ground nut mixture across the bottom, leaving a three-inch border. Starting at the outside edge of the ground nuts, arrange your plum slices into one, tightly fit ring with all the plums facing the same way. Make the inner ring, then the final third ring in the middle. If you have extra plum slices, go back and fill in any gaps or wider spaces. And if you’re using different plum varieties, try to alternate the varieties in every other slice or one variety per ring. Don’t worry if you can’t!

4.  Fold tart dough up and over the plums, pleating or pinching as you go, then put the whole thing into the freezer for at least one hour. This will help the dough keep its shape when it’s popped into the hot oven. Once the tart has fully chilled, brush the crust with your egg wash. Mix the remaining two tablespoons of demerara sugar with the cinnamon. Sprinkle a heavy layer of the sugar-cinnamon mixture across the crust, then sprinkle the remaining over the fruit itself. Brush any stray granules off the parchment so they don’t scorch in the oven. Dot the tart with butter and cover the tart very lightly with a sheet of foil, and bake for a total of 45 to 50 minutes until crust is dark golden brown and juices are bubbling. Remove the foil about halfway through baking so that the crust can color. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes, and serve.

Raspberry Rhubarb Crostata

When I was approximately seven, my grandmother's tipsy humor had us in stitches when she took a jab at her sister (not present) during a game of Balderdash. The word in question sounded something like “pompelsnell,” and grandma joked that it was “the sound you make after eating Eloise’s rhubarb cobbler.” She was not wrong! This is both my first memory of snark and my first memory of rhubarb, which I seem to recall being stewed without sugar and slumping under a deflated layer of cooked oatmeal.* I have a friend now who has never had rhubarb because it was verboten at his dinner table as his grandfather had grown up in orphanage eating rhubarb pie every day, and another friend who avoids it because her parents used to boil rhubarb (without sugar!) and serve it alongside rutabagas -- so very World War II. I cannot imagine a more un-Tanglewood way to spend a meal. 

People go on about rhubarb being tart and sassy, but until recently, I really wouldn’t have known because my tendency was to sweeten the shit out of it, add strawberries, and bake it inside of buttery pastry dough. It is so good that way, but then my sister’s main dude made her a rhubarb-only birthday pie a couple of weeks ago -- the first pie he has ever made! -- and it was so tasty and new. Maybe Eloise was on the right track. I’m not quite interested in going bare-bones with the ‘barb yet, but having it on its own helped me divorce it from strawberries -- and right on time because I was growing bored of it that way and thinking I would just forget about rhubarb this season. But this tart is so good, and it will revive your rhubarb pie repertoire for certain. And if you’re looking for a spin on rhubarb that isn’t at all “pompelsnell,” well you should start right here. Now quick, quick! Get some rhubarb before it disappears until next season.

Raspberry Rhubarb Crostata

Spotted on Lottie + Doof, adapted from Karen Demasco in Bon Appetit

The only major change I made to this was swapping out the cornstarch in favor of tapioca starch. I once read that some people detect a gritty mouth feel when eating filling made with cornstarch. This has never been a problem for me, but

Crust

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour 

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar 

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cubed 

1 large egg

1 tablespoon whole milk

Filling

1/4 cup tapioca starch
4 cups 1/2″-thick slices rhubarb (about 1 1/4 lb.)
6 oz. fresh raspberries
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, beaten
Raw sugar
Sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (for serving)

1.  For crust:  Pulse flours, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor to blend. Drop cubed butter over the top, and pulse a few times until butter is the size of peas. In a separate bowl, whisk milk and egg to combine, then pulse into the flour-butter mixture until it creates moist crumbs. Dump mixture into a shallow bowl, and quickly press into a ball with your hands; flatten into a thick disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 1/2 hours and up to two days. 

2.  For filling:  Mix tapioca starch and 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl to dissolve; set aside. Combine rhubarb, raspberries, and sugar in a large, heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until sugar is dissolved and fruit starts releasing its juices, about four minutes. Stir in tapioca mixture and bring to a boil; rhubarb slices will still be in tact. Transfer to a bowl and chill filling until cool, about 30 minutes.

3.  For crostata:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out dough on floured parchment to a 12-inch diameter; brush with beaten egg. Mound filling in the center, then spread out evenly, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Gently fold edges of dough over filling, pleating as needed; brush border with egg and sprinkle with raw sugar. Slide parchment paper onto a large rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. You might choose to line pan with aluminum foil as well to catch seeping juices. Transfer crostata to a baking rack, and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if so desired. Will keep covered for a few days, but truly is best eaten the day of or from the fridge.

* Well, my mom, sister, and I all have a different memory about this night. Sister insists that it was a mincemeat pie and that Eloise made them all the time. My mother is certain that it was pumpkin pie. They both say that it was Thanksgiving, which means that my memory of it being rhubarb is likely wrong, and my memory of it being cobbler even more so, but still! The point is that this crostata will never cause anyone to ridicule you during Balderdash.

Caramelized Plum Galette

Two weekends ago I visited my sister in Pittsburgh, where among sisterly activities such as thrifting, eating corn fritters, and tallying the number of cicadas that Trout (cat) killed, we also had a dinner party of sorts.  I'm going to hijack the nuanced reason and say that it was a test drive for Olly Oxen Free, which is the secret cafe that I've been doing in Washington, DC (well, did once anyway).  The menu, was a simple savory tomato and thyme tart, an all greens and herbs salad with shallot vinaigrette, a super delish roasted chicken, our adopted and adapted recipe for truffled macaroni and cheese, sweet corn custard with blueberry compote, and a plum and apricot galette with an almond-y crust.  Oh and an assortment of bar drinks, especially red wine spritzahs and a seriously good Katie-made St. Germain cocktail.

The dinner was awesome, the kitchen only a mild disaster, and the food coma so very severe that we skipped the Night of a Thousand Bowies in favor of unzipping on the couch and listening to the addling 4:00 a.m. ramble of a well-meaning neighbor.  In addition to learning that truffle is best goddamn flavor I have ever put in my mouth, I also discovered that plum desserts are totally underrated and  fully delightful. I got zero pictures of the evening (well almost zero, here's an iPhone snap), but the macaroni and the plum galette were my favorite edible parts, so I tinkered with and recreated the dessert recipe last weekend.  What follows is a caramelized and more buttery (and more photogenic) version of the galette from Pittsburgh. Baby, it's pure late summer in a pie shell. 

All-Butter Pastry Dough
(Makes enough for two crusts)

2 sticks unsalted butter, very cold
1 cup ice water, divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

1.  Read this if you want to get some good advice about pie crust. I'll throw in some of my own hints, but Deb has compiled some excellent suggestions about how to keep your dough cold and your crust flaky.  Start by cubing your butter into small, half-inch pieces.  Put these in the freezer while you ready the rest of the ingredients.  Measure one cup of water, add some ice cubes and set aside to chill.

2.  I use a food processor for my dough, but was making wonderful crusts with a pastry blender until very recently. If your kitchen is very warm, you might want to chill the bowl or the blade of the processor to ensure that it cuts rather than melts the butter. Add all of your dry ingredients to the bowl of the processor, and pulse once or twice to blend the mixture. Sprinkle the cubes of butter over the top, and blend in pulses about 15 times, or until some pieces of butter are the size of peas, and the rest resembles oatmeal.

3.  Dump the mixture into a chilled, shallow bowl, and drizzle a half-cup of the ice water (minus de cubes) over the top.  Using a rubber spatula, cut the moisture quickly into the dough, gathering it together as you do. If the dough is too dry, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together in a shaggy mess. (Sidenote: I never use more than two or three additional tablespoons of water, and generally keep it to a half-cup anyway, but this all depends on the moisture and heat in your kitchen!) Knead the dough gently a few times to make it come together more, divide into two equal pieces, and wrap in plastic wrap.  Flatten into disks and store in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably longer.

4.  If not using all of the dough that day, it will keep in the fridge for up to a week, wrapped in an additional layer of plastic.

Plum Filling 
Freely adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques

Suzanne Goin's recipe is for a plum tarte tatin with puff pastry, but since I lack a cast iron pan and love galettes, I used her caramelizing technique and scaled back the filling to make this summery tart with a crust.  Do not be dissuaded by all the text -- this recipe is simple and delightful.

1 1/2 pounds of plums, or about 12 small (I used a combination of Italian, red, and black), sliced vertically and pitted
1/4 cup + 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest, optional
Pinch salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 egg

1.  In a medium bowl, gently mix plums, quarter-cup sugar (or less if your plums are real sweet), pinch of salt, and zest if you're using. Allow to macerate for half-hour.

2.  Meanwhile, heat a large, flat skillet over medium heat for one minute.  Add butter and melt until foamy, then add the six tablespoons of white sugar, stirring quickly just to evenly distribute.  Over medium-low heat and swirling often, cook the mixture for about six minutes, or until it's the color of dark caramel.  Remove from heat and allow to cool for 20 minutes.  It will harden, but that's okay!

3.  Once the plums are finished macerating, drain the liquid.  Arrange the plums cut side down on your skillet and return stove to medium heat.  Cook the plums in the caramel for 20 minutes without stirring.  They'll release a lot of liquid and essentially stew in their own awesome juices.

4.  Allow to cool for an hour or two.  Then preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, and roll out one piece of dough to a 13-inch round and trim the edges so they're smooth (If it's hot in your kitchen, place the rolled-out dough onto the back of a cookie sheet and slide it into the freezer or fridge for ten to fifteen minutes to keep the butter from melting).  Slide your dough onto a sheet of parchment on the back of a cookie sheet. Maintaining a three-inch border of crust, arrange the plums cut side up in a tight concentric circle. Gently fold the edge of the dough over the fruit, pleating as you go.

5.  Brush pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar if you wish.  Bake in the middle of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until pastry is deep golden brown and fruit is bubbling.  Allow to cool on cookie sheet for ten minutes, then eat it up or let it cool further on a cooling rack.  Whipped cream or ice cream would be excellent companions here.