Peach and almond galette

Ah, another peach dish. Another Semi-Homemade dish. How did I get here? I always wanted to be more Ina Garten than Sandra Lee, but now look at me. I am one recipe away from cooking exclusively with cream of mushroom soup and a packet of dried onion flakes.

Almonds are an interesting nut to bake with. I only started appreciating them later in life, when I started making things like Julia’s poached-pear tart with the almond frangipane and this pear-almond cake with chocolate chunks. Something about that almost chocolatey roasted flavor plays well with sweet, soft fruits and buttery pastry.

This Bon Appetit dish is semi-homemade because it uses store-bought pie crust. However, making the almond crumble requires a food processor, which is decidedly not Semi-Homemade. It was WONDERFUL. Again, I love almonds with fruit. And these peaches performed beautifully. We had it with soft vanilla ice cream and it was perfection.

Peach and Almond Galette

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/4 cup almond paste
• 6 tablespoons all purpose flour, divided
• 1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 refrigerated pie crust (half of 15-ounce package)
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 1 1/2 pounds peaches, halved, pitted, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
• Vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment (I obviously forgot the parchment, so used foil). Combine 1/4 cup almonds, almond paste, 5 tablespoons flour, sugar, and salt in processor until almonds are ground. Add butter; pulse until almond topping begins to clump together. Transfer topping to medium bowl.

If necessary, roll pastry to 11-inch round. Transfer to prepared sheet. Brush crust with some beaten egg. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup almond topping. Toss peaches with 1 tablespoon flour in large bowl. Add 1/3 cup topping; toss again. Spoon peaches onto crust, leaving 1 1/4-inch border and mounding in center. Sprinkle remaining topping over peaches.

Fold crust up at edges, pleating as needed. Brush crust edges with beaten egg. Bake galette until crust is golden brown, peaches are tender, and juices are bubbling thickly, about 50 minutes. Transfer galette on paper to rack to cool. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon almonds over. Cool completely. Cut into wedges and serve.

Don’t forget the ice cream! This is a relatively easy dish that you can whip up on a week night. Who needs a special occasion to cook elegant dishes?

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

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Rhubarb Galette

Guess who’s back on rhubarb?

It’s true – memories of my depressing rhubarb challenge are forgotten as I visited the promised land of rhubarb: The Inland Northwest. It grows in almost everybody’s yard, so I couldn’t help myself. I pillaged a friend’s garden, where she had a third-generation rhubarb plant thriving in a cool, shady patch of earth. I picked more than enough for my rhubarb galette, which means took some on the plane with me…

For all my Southern friends who give me blank stares when I say “rhubarb,” here is what it looks like, once the big leaves are trimmed off (see? red celery):

I made this dessert from Bon Appetit a few months ago, and then lost the recipe. Martha to the rescue, of course. I love how she includes cinnamon and fresh nutmeg – I’ve never had those spices with rhubarb and it worked quite well. We changed the recipe a bit – mainly, adding mom’s pate brisee instead of Martha’s cornmeal pate brisee. Mom’s crust was perfect, not that anybody would be surprised…

This is a tart dish, perfect for hot summer days, or any days, really.

Rhubarb Galette

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 disk of pate brisee (I’m sending you to Martha’s – increase the sugar to 2 T)
• 1 lb. rhubarb, sliced 1/2-inch thick
• Juice of half a lemon
• 3/4 c. sugar
• Pinch salt
• Pinch cinnamon
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
• 1 T unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 375. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 14-inch round. Transfer to parchment-lined sheet.

Place rhubarb and lemon juice in large bowl, toss to combine. In another bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add rhubarb to sugar mixture and toss to coat. Pour rhubarb on top of dough, leaving a 2-inch border of dough. Fold border over and crimp to seal. Chill in refrigerator for 15-20 min.

Once chilled, brush crust with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar and dot rhubarb with butter. Bake until crust is deep golden and juices are bubbling, about 55 min.

Transfer to wire rack to cool. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream, or at room temperature.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo