I love summer! I love that wonderful sunshine on my skin! I love that amazing feeling of freedom! Summer makes me feel differently, it makes me feel my life. I know that might sound quite poetic or idealistic, but this season… it’s so vibrant and full of energy.
For as long as I can remember, I have always been waiting for these three glorious months. I dream about fresh strawberries from our family garden, about cherries which I’ll pick from a tree and lovely, juicy blueberries in the forest where my Mum and I would drive early in the morning. I’ve always felt that this season is too short, that my amazing berries would finish too soon. And every single year, from September, I count the days until June and my fresh strawberries in the garden.
Now, everything is different. We can buy fresh strawberries, blueberries and tomatoes all year long and we don’t even care about the taste. We just like the idea of berries. We like the ability to get everything, anytime we want. This is why, every single summer, I celebrate these amazing ingredients. I can imagine that I look quite funny buying fruits during this season, because I always smell them. I want to take in this experience. I want to remember these moments for the upcoming 9 months. This is my love affair.
Because of this, I think that galettes could be called the celebration of summer. They are so easy to bake, and the starring role is played by juicy, sweet, scrumptious fruits and berries. You can use anything you want: strawberries, blueberries, peaches or even tomatoes, if you prefer a savoury dish.
A few things to remember before you make your first galette:
- The dough cannot be too wet. The consistency needs to be similar to the dough you would make for scones. The ingredients need to just come together. It is always better to start by adding less liquid than you think might be necessary, and gradually add moisture later.
- Rolling the dough too thin or too thick is a common mistake. You need to find that golden spot. When I am baking a galette, I always think about a base for a pizza – you can still taste it, but it is perfectly balanced with the toppings.
- The same applies to your dough. Your filling cannot be too wet. Otherwise, you will end up with runny jam on a pastry. To avoid this, add a spoon of cornstarch or flour into your filling.
- You can prepare the dough a night before and leave it in the fridge until the next morning.
Ingredients:
Dough:
150g flour
90g butter
2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon of sugar
Pinch of salt
Filling:
200g strawberries
50g blueberries
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 lemon
50g butter
50g sugar
1 egg
70g ground almonds
1 tablespoon of flour
20ml rum (not necessary)
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.
- Mix together flour, sugar and salt. Add diced cold butter. Using your hands, combine everything together. You are supposed to end up with the consistency of breadcrumbs.
- Add a tablespoon of cold Greek yogurt and combine everything together. If the dough is too crumbly, add another spoon of the yogurt. Do not over mix it.
- Form the dough into a disk and let it chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Prepare your almond cream: mix the butter with sugar until it has a creamy consistency (the butter needs to be pale and fluffy – which might take 3-5 minutes to achieve).
- Beat in one egg, add the ground almonds, flour and rum (if you are using it) and mix everything together.
- Prepare your berries: cut your strawberries and add the blueberries. Add the zest and juice of one lemon and the cornstarch (according to your liking, you can add a spoon of sugar as well). Mix everything together.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured baking sheet (the same sheet you will be baking the galette on) around 3-5 mm thick. Cut the edges to oval or round shape (if you prefer a more rustic look, leave the edges as they are).
- In the middle of your disk, add the frangipane mixture (leave a border of 5-6cm) and arrange the berries on top, pouring over all the excess juices.
- Fold up the edges of the dough to cover a little bit of your fruit filling.
- Brush the edges of the dough with the beaten egg or milk and sprinkle brown sugar on top.
- Bake the galette for 40 minutes or until it is golden.
