Tag: galette

Tomato and Ricotta Galette

September 20, 2017September 20, 2017

There is a weird thing about being a food blogger. You compose pictures just so that none of the mess in your kitchen shows. You (mostly) never write about all the recipe testing and research. And you definitely don’t write about the failed attempts. And then there’s the stuff like, I made this and took pictures about 2 weeks ago, but am writing the post in Chicago. It all feels a bit weird, you know? Like I’m pretending, or I’m creating this fantasy world where everything is clean, and everything works perfectly the first time I try it. But I want you to know, that’s not true.

Another weird thing is knowing where to draw the line between keeping the writing here light and fun and ooh look tomatoes! Do I talk about my personal life? How far do I go? Last year when I was traveling, I certainly wrote about being homesick, and that got personal. But do you really want potentially heavy, personal stuff amidst pretty pictures of pastries?

The point of all this, I suppose, is that I’d like to be a bit more real. I want to not worry about there being a mess in the background of my pictures. And I’d like you to know some of those things about myself, and I’d like to feel safe writing those things in this place. So in that spirit: I’m getting married in three days! It’s big and exciting and for some reason scary and also very normal at the same time. What is really changing? Nothing. It feels like such a big step, but for now most things will stay the same, except that I’ll wear an extra ring on my finger and my taxes will change. We’ll still eat dinner too late, I’ll still listen to my favorite Pandora station when I bake, he’ll still take me out to dinner where the restaurant is a “surprise” but I’ll actually give him a list of three to choose from. And you’ll still be here, maybe, reading about all of it.

This meal was one of those ideas that was marinating in my head for a while. I’m trying to get better at making a few blog recipes at a time so I have content ready to publish, but it can feel overwhelming. He has been ever supportive, asking while we’re making dinner, “Wait, do you want to photograph this? Go grab your camera!” He waits while I set up the shot, he oohs and ahs over the pictures after I edit them, and he still proofreads almost every post. This galette was the epitome of summer to me, and the last recipe I photographed before we came to Chicago to get married in his parents’ back yard. I made it while he was at soccer, and waiting for him to come home and eat it, I realized how cool this all is, how cool he is: encouraging me to continue to write and cook and photograph, pushing me to try new recipes, offering me a safety net when things don’t go as planned. This tomato galette? It’s my love note to him.

Continue reading “Tomato and Ricotta Galette” →

Rhubarb Galette with Ginger and Cardamom

May 5, 2017May 6, 2017

There is something about home that is indescribable. We haven’t finished purchasing all the things we need for our new apartment yet, like shoe racks and lamps and soap dispensers. But still, this place feels more like home than any place I’ve lived in a long time. We picked the curtains and the plants, our art is hanging on all the walls, and I have all of my kitchen appliances in one place – no boxes, no storage, no knowing that one day I’m going to have to go through all these cookbooks to figure out what belongs to whom. Nope – it’s all ours.

And now that we have a table and enough chairs for a few extra bums to sit in, all I want is to have people over all the time. We’ve been pretty successful so far – having people over almost twice a week since we’ve moved in. It has reinforced my love of cooking for people, of making an excuse to get together. But why should we need an excuse? Isn’t good company enough? Add to that a home cooked meal and a bottle of wine and how could anyone turn you down? I feel lucky that we’ve gathered a little community who feels the same way, that there’s no better reason to be together other than it’s been a few days since we’ve last seen each other.

It helps that it’s spring – dusk drags its feet a little more each day, the tulips on our walkway have come and mostly gone at this point, and they’ve put up the annual rosé wine display at the local grocery store. It’s the time of year when people come out of hibernation, itching to wear their short sleeves and dig out their sunglasses, ready to get their hands dirty in the garden (we’re hoping to plant ours this weekend), antsy to go on evening strolls. For me spring means always having a pound of rhubarb in the fridge, ready to roast into a compote for topping ice cream or simmer into a syrup for mixing into cocktails or slice and bake into a galette. I would do the same if I were you.

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Italian Plum Galette

September 7, 2015February 11, 2017

There is a tree outside of our house. Technically it’s in our neighbor’s yard, but much of it hangs over the winding pathway that leads to our front door. It’s a plum tree. Or a prune tree. You see, I’m not totally sure what the difference is. I think all prunes are plums, but not all plums are prunes. So maybe they’re prune plums. Right?

It’s funny actually, because when I was growing up outside of Seattle, my neighbors had a plum tree. And they told us we could pick as many plums as we wanted, I think mostly because they felt bad that the plums would fall and rot in our driveway. But my sisters and I used to go out in the driveway and fill up bowls and bowls of plums. We’d snack on them, bake with them, and make plum chutney. So I think I have a soft spot for plum trees in neighbors’ yards.

Either way, there’s a plum tree, and the plums are small and oblong, and when you cut them open, they still look kind of green even when they’re ripe. And all summer, I waited. I waited until their skins turned from green to purple, for their flesh to soften. And then I waited for Jonah to be home so that he (and his 6’6″ self) could pick them for me. I don’t do ladders.

I planned a plum galette. Simple, rustic, pretty even. I made a whole wheat crust, I ground almonds to spread in the bottom, and I even spread the plum slices in those lovely concentric circles. It was nice. It was summery. And it tasted pretty darn good.

Italian Plum Galette

Ingredients

Galette Dough

1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
4 tbsp vegetable shortening, preferably cold, cut into chunks
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp white vinegar
1/4 cup ice water (plus more if needed)

Plum Filling

1/4 cup almonds (or 1/4 cup ground almonds)
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp AP flour
14-18 Italian plums OR 6-7 regular plums cut into 1/2 inch slices
zest of 1/2 lemon
3 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions

Galette Dough

To make the dough, mix the AP flour, whole wheat pastry flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and shortening, and mix until the biggest pieces of butter are no larger than a pea. In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk, vinegar, and 1/4 cup of ice water. Drizzle this mixture over the flour and butter mixture by the tablespoon. Mix until combined and the dough comes together. If the dough is too dry and doesn’t come together, add more ice water by the tablespoon. Collect the dough, form it into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to two days.

Plum Filling

Preheat your oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet, preferably rimmed, with parchment paper. In a food processor, combine the almonds, granulated sugar, and AP flour and process until you’ve got a coarse meal. If you’re using ground almonds, simply combine it with the granulated sugar and flour in a bowl. Set almond mixture aside.

In a bowl, combine the sliced plums, lemon zest, and brown sugar, tossing to coat evenly. Set aside.

Remove your dough from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll out your dough to a 14-16 inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer the rolled out dough to the parchment lined baking sheet. Spread almond mixture in the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch edge all the way around. Pile your plums and their juices on top of the almond mixture (or gently arrange them in concentric circles), and then gently fold up the edge of the dough over the plums. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the plum filling is bubbling and the edges of the galette crust are golden brown.

Allow to cool for at least an hour before digging in. I recommend topping with ice cream (I think cardamom would be good if you can get your hands on it) or fresh whipped cream. Enjoy!