Simply June: Nectarine Galette

I went to a cooking class recently, well it was more about architectural desserts and some demo I guess. While I didn't really learn much about putting together a decorative dessert that I did not already know how to, I did bring home some awesome recipes and learnt a few tips. The 3 hour class I went was very packed, even though the demo on the recipes were pretty good, I wished it was a hands on class. I guess, I must have misread the class description and went in on different expectations.

Anyway........ the instructor made a delicious yet quite easy to make peach galette. It had some rosemary in the crust, which I thought was very interesting and gives you a little surprising flavor when you bite into the galette. With 2 very ripe nectarines sitting in my kitchen, I knew this was a great time to try out the recipe. The original recipe given to us at the class has a brown sugar crumb topping, I decided to use his online recipe as a reference that omitted the crumb topping. Original recipe by Robert Wemischner can be found HERE, but here's my slightly tweaked version. The galette is overall not too sweet (all the sweetness will come from your fruit!), and the slightly savory crust makes it an awesome combination. Make it a nectarine galette ala mode or perhaps a drizzle or two of some yummy caramel sauce if you want to increase the level of sweetness.

NECTARINE GALETTE RECIPE

Pastry Crust Ingredients

2-1/2 Oz Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
2-1/2 Oz Cream Cheese, at room temperature
1 Large Egg Yolk, mixed with 1-1/2 Oz Ice Water
1 Tsp Finely Chopped Fresh Rosemary
Zest form 1/2 Lemon
7 Oz All Purpose Flour + Extra for Rolling out dough
3 Tbsp Sugar
1/3 Tsp Salt

Nectarine Filling Ingredients

4 Tbsp Unflavored Finely Ground Bread Crumbs
2-3 Large Ripe Nectarines (or other ripe stone fruit in season)
1 -1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice, mixed with 1 Tsp Ice Water
1 Tbsp Apricot Jam
Egg Wash (1 Egg Yolk, mixed with 1 Tsp Water)

Method

In a large bowl, cream butter and cream until smooth, scraping the sides and the bottom of the bowl occasionally. Add egg yolk mixture into bowl and mix until blended. Add rosemary, lemon zest, flour, sugar and salt, mixing just until dry ingredients disappear. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to be sure that all ingredients are well blended. Remove dough to a lightly floured surface and knead briefly to compress dough. Flatten the dough into a round disk and warp well in a plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge until firm, about one hour.

In the mean time, you can either peel the nectarines or leave it with skin on. Cut the nectarines into halves (pitt removed) and set them (cut side down) on a plate lined with some paper towel to soak extra juice. Gently brush the top of the nectarines with the lemon juice mixture and set the nectarines aside until ready to assemble.

Once the dough is firm, roll out the chilled dough into a sheet, about 1/3" thick on a lightly floured surface. Using a 5-6 inch round cookie cutter or a 5-6" bowl & knife, cut the dough into 4 circles and place on a parchment lined sheet pan. If not ready for use yet, chill the dough in the fridge.

Preheat oven at 375F. Sprinkle bread crumbs in the center of each dough leaving about 1-1/2" margin of dough uncovered. Place each half of the nectarines on top of the bread crumb, in the center of the dough. Fold the edge of the dough towards the nectarines, and pinch the dough at about 1" intervals, making a decorative pleat around the outside of the galette.

If the galette feels soft after pleating, refrigerate the galettes for about 15 minutes. Mix the apricot jam with the remaining lemon juice mixture (for a sweeter glaze, mix the jam with about 2 tsp of water instead of the lemon juice mixture) and brush the jam mixture on each nectarine halves.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Let the galettes cool down a little before serving with your favorite vanilla or caramel ice cream. You can also serve the galettes at room temperature.

Enjoy!

June's Comments: Do not skip using the breadcrumbs, as odd as it sounds, it actually helps to absorb the juices the the fruit and prevent the crust from getting soggy. Also, when pleating the galette, pinch the dough tightly, if not you will end up having something ugly like this... =(

With the extra access of dough, I compiled them and roll it out into about 5-6" circle. With no nectarines left, I placed about 2 tbsp of blueberry jam in the middle of the dough (no need spread the jam, because as the galette cooks, the jam will spread out) leaving about 1-1/2" margin on the edge. Fold the edge of the dough and pinch the dough about 1/2" interval making a decorative pleat. Make a 3/4 inch "well" around the jam, so that the dough can contain the jam when cooking. Refrigerate the blueberry jam galette for about 15 minutes prior to baking. Brush the outer edge of the dough with egg wash and bake for about 30 minutes until the galette is golden brown.