There's nothing simpler than making a galette. Savory or sweet, puff pastry or pie pastry, they're a delight to the eyes and a treat for the palate. I love the country look of an apple galette made with pie pastry and the elegance of a fruit galette made with puff pastry. Both are a snap to do now that we have both frozen puff pastry and packaged pie dough. Although I must be honest and say I usually make my own pie pastry, there is nothing wrong with using the packaged variety when you're in a hurry or don't want to waste the time indoors on a beautiful summer day.
I made some individual galettes for a friend last week with Rainier cherries and others with black cherries using Cannelle-Vanille's recipe and her delicious sugar dough. I made a banana galette too, because I had some dough left over AND some ripe bananas on the counter. My grandmother used to make these (but she never called them by the fancy French name of galette) when she had leftover dough from a pie. I just sprinkled a little sugar and cinnamon on the bananas like she did. That brought back some sweet memories. Kids love these little "leftover" banana gems. They can pick them up like a cookie and eat them outside.
Apricot Galette
Gourmet Magazine, June 1999
Ingredients:
1/4 cup sliced, toasted almonds
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
6 fresh apricots (preferably underripe and very tart)
half a 17 1/4-ounce package frozen puff pastry sheets (1 sheet), thawed overnight in fridge
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
Method:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
In a food processor pulse almonds with confectioners' sugar until finely ground.
Halve and pit apricots and cut into 1/8-inch-thick wedges.
On a lightly floured surface unfold pastry sheet and cut out a 9-inch round. Transfer round to a baking pan lined with parchment paper and prick pastry all over with a fork. Spoon almond mixture evenly over pastry, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Decoratively arrange apricot wedges, overlapping them, on top of almond mixture and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Bake galette in middle of oven until edges are golden brown, about 30 minutes. With a spatula transfer galette to a rack to cool.
Serve with sweetened whipped cream or ice cream.
Serves 6-8
The first day of summer officially begins on June 21st. As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky, which is what the word solstice means: the sun stands still. The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still). This is considered the longest day of the year just as the winter solstice is the shortest. It's also called Midsummer because it is roughly the middle of the growing season throughout much of Europe. The day is still celebrated around the world - most notably in England at Stonehenge and Avebury, where thousands gather to welcome the sunrise on the Summer Solstice.
I always think of Druids when I think of Stonehenge and the solstice, but in 1984 Stonehenge was placed under the control of English Heritage. Its first act was to ban the Druids from the site. After years of lobbying the British government for admission to their beloved circle of megaliths once again, the Druids triumphantly returned to celebrate the summer solstice on June 21, 1998.
When I was a kid, we always considered Memorial Day to be the start of summer. We were allowed to go swimming for the first time, even though the water was still ice cold. We all donned bathing suits and did our best not to chicken out.
Another sure sign of summer is the arrival of apricots in the produce section. Here's the thing: I want to like them, I really do. But all too often apricots just don’t taste half as good as they look. It's easy to fall in love with a stack of golden orange fruit only to get one home and discover it has no flavor. Some describe their flavor as almost musky, with a faint tartness that lies somewhere between a peach and a plum.
If you're lucky enough to have a tree, apricots ripened and picked right off the tree are the best; so watch for them at farmer's markets or roadside stands. If not, consider the following when buying at the store:
- Apricots are not juicy fruits so don't equate softness for juiciness.
- Choose each apricot carefully, looking for plumpness, and lots of golden orange-red color. Avoid apricots that are green or pale yellow.
- Finally, smell them. An apricot that has flavor also has a sweet and ready fragrance.
I've been disappointed so many times; either they're too tart or they're mealy. I do keep trying though, ever hopeful and often I'm rewarded. But the main way I eat fresh apricots is in a tart or roasted with honey. Pastry Studio had a marvelous recipe last week, combining two of my favorites: roasted apricots AND a Sour Cream Ice cream. An old issue Gourmet also had a fabulous (and simple) Apricot Galette recipe made with puff pastry; I've made it often.
I'm going to make good use of the short apricot season this year, starting with an idea from a former neighbor who used to make a fabulous apricot sorbet. I lost her recipe long ago, but found a nearly identical one in Gourmet magazine years later and I make it every year right around summer solstice.
Any Druids out there?
Apricot Sorbet
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, June 2002
Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1-1/4 lb firm-ripe apricots (7 large)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
Method:
Preheat oven to 350°.Bring sugar, water, and dried apricots to a boil in a small saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let stand until apricots are softened, about 1 hour.
While dried apricots are standing, place pitted, halved fresh apricots in a small roasting pan, sprinkle with a little sugar and bake in the middle of your oven until soft. It took me about 25 to 30 minutes, but the recipe calls for 1 hour. I have found by that time, the juices have all seeped out into the roasting pan. so watch them carefully. Cool in pan.
Purée dried apricot mixture, roasted apricots, lemon juice, and almond extract in a blender until very smooth, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Force purée through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on solids and then discarding them. Chill purée, covered, until cold, at least 2 hours.
Freeze in ice cream maker, then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.
Purée can be chilled up to 8 hours. Sorbet keeps 1 week.
Photo credit: Stonehenge: National Geographic
This isn't the first time I've posted a wine gelée. I'm crazy about them. I had an old Jamie Oliver recipe for an Elderflower/Prosecco gelée sitting on my desktop for ages and then while recently reading through Deborah Madison's dessert book, lo and behold there was a gelée and fruit recipe. I loved the way she presented it.... such a light and summery looking dessert. But I also preferred Jamie's idea of using elderflower liqueur (mainly because I have a lovely bottle of St~Germain) and Prosecco so I combined the two recipes. Whether that makes this my invention I have no idea, so consider them both credited for this recipe.
Let's talk a bit about elderflower liqueur. I splurged on a bottle originally because it was an ingredient in a very special mixed drink I was making for a luncheon. I've since been won over: try an Elderflower Martini; and Elderflower liqueur is lovely to sip by itself, but with a splash of champagne or club soda, yum. It's also wonderful poured over sorbet or vanilla ice cream. So many drinks, so little time. LOL.
There's an interesting story behind this particular liqueur. Please note that most of this information and the quaint photos are from the St~Germain website.
St~Germain is the first liqueur in the world created in the artisanal French manner from freshly handpicked elderflower blossoms. These fragile flowers begin to lose their delicate fragrance and flavor very quickly.
When the delicate, white elderflower blossoms are at their peak, men gather sacks of them from the foothills of the Alps. There is only a 2 to 3 week window of blossoming.
French farmers are organized to deliver sacks of the elderflower blossoms to local depots, some using specially rigged bicycles.
The flowers are sent to the distillery quickly and macerated—steeped in alcohol to absorb almost all of the aroma, flavor and color—in order to maximize freshness and flavor. The manufacturing process is secret, but involves eau de vie, distillation and the addition of citrus and cane sugar. Take a whiff and a lychee aroma hits you right away. Then there’s a bit of peach, some orange that evolves to grapefruit, and maybe some pear. Really, sheer heaven.
With this recipe, you'll find elderflower liqueur makes the wine gelée very special. I've made port wine gelées, white wine gelées, but until I came across Jamie's recipe, I had never thought of an elderflower and Prosecco combition. The Prosecco bubbles actually stay in the gelée and fizzes a bit in your mouth when you eat it. But what sold me on combining this with Deborah's idea was her cubing of the gelée. Brilliant idea. Larger molds are always pretty, but the fruit is forever popping to the top, unless you are extra cautious about not adding them until the gelée is nearly set. And then you have to worry about unmolding. An unmolded wine gelée has to be perfect. This is not rocket science, but Deborah's method is so much easier. And a tad more casual.
I sprayed a 9" square pan with Pam and then poured in the gelée mixture, covered and refrigerated it overnight. The next day, I took a sharp knife, cut around the pan and then cut the gelée in small cubes. I used a spatula to release them. You can use whatever fruits you like and as many as you like. And I liked the increased amount of sugar in Deborah's recipe...don't worry, it's still not that sweet. In fact, I really prefer a dollop of sweetened whipped cream on top of mine.
Elderflower and Prosecco Gelée With Fruit
Ingredients:
1-1/2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin (1-1/2 tablespoons)
1/4 pint of elderflower liqueur
1-3/4 cups Prosecco
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup superfine sugar
Fresh fruit (I used mango, blackberries, raspberries, kiwi and blueberries)
Method:
Sprinkle the gelatin over 1/4 cup cold water to soften. Heat the liqueur and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Add the softened gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat for a minute or so and then add the Prosecco. Immediately pour into a 9" square pan, cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, use a knife to cut the gelée into squares and layer with fruits of your choice. Serve cold. Garnish with mint or a dollop of whipped cream.
