Fold flavorful summer fruits into a galette

So much great fruit is ripe this month, yet the blast-furnace heat makes baking a two-crust pie an unpleasant experience.

My compromise is to make the occasional galette, a rustic pastry that fills and bakes easier than pie. My latest version pretty much cleaned out my fruit collection, using apricots, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, a nectarine and a pluot or two. 

I use a fabulous pastry recipe that I’m going to share: Dorie Greenspan’s galette pastry, from her book “Baking Chez Moi.” She’s very specific in her directions, but they’re easy to follow, and the pastry handles beautifully — it’s thicker than standard pie crust. It requires just five ingredients. But you can certainly use a premade crust, rolled out flat to about 12 inches. Edges do not have to be even; the raggedness is part of a galette’s appeal.

I have been known to make two pastries and freeze the second one, the better to enjoy another galette in a few weeks. The link above also includes her recipe for a blueberry filling, which is different from the one below:

Mixed fruit galette

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

1 galette pastry, made from Dorie Greenspan’s recipe, or any premade crust, defrosted if it was purchased frozen

2 generous cups prepared stone fruit, such as pitted and sliced apricots, cherries, peaches, plums or nectarines

1 tablespoon brown sugar

3 tablespoons almond flour or meal (ground blanched almonds)

1 cup washed and dried berries (any variety except strawberries)

Zest of 1 small lime

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon minced or grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon unsalted butter for finishing, cut into small bits

Turbinado sugar, optional, for sprinkling

Instructions:

Any crust being used should be rolled out to about 12 inches in diameter and chilled on a rimmed baking pan covered with parchment paper. The freezer works for a quick chill.

Combine the prepared stone fruit in a large bowl, stir in the brown sugar, and set aside.

Now is the time to take the pastry and pan out of the frig or freezer.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Sprinkle the almond meal or flour over the crust, leaving a 2-inch border uncovered. The almond meal will absorb extra juices.

Gently stir the berries, zest and ginger into the bowl of stone fruit.

Pile rhe fruit and any juices in the middle of the crust, covering the almond meal. Dot it with the bits of butter.

Fold up the edge of the crust around the fruit, pleating the edge as needed to create a free-form tart.

If desired, dampen the edge of the crust with water, using a pastry brush, and sprinkle the turbinado sugar along the edge, not too thickly.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling.

Allow galette to cool 15 minutes before slicing and serving with ice cream, if desired.