Alice Waters’ Rhubarb Galette
With fresh strawberries and rhubarb, this galette makes for the perfect late spring dessert (or breakfast — no judgement)
Ingredients:
10 ounces galette dough, rolled into a 14-inch circle
3 cups rhubarb + strawberries
1.75 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons flour
0.25 cup almond-amaretti powder
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted.
Makes one 12-inch tart; serves 8 to 10.
Instructions:
For the Galette dough, you will need: 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon sugar; a quarter-teaspoon salt; 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into half-inch pieces; 7 tablespoons ice water. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Cut 4 tablespoons of the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender, mixing until the dough resembles coarse cornmeal. Cut in the remaining butter with the pastry blender, just until the biggest pieces are the size of large peas. Dribble 7 tablespoons of ice water into the flour mixture in several stages, tossing and mixing between additions, until the dough just holds together. Toss the mixture with your hands, letting it fall through your fingers. Do not pinch or squeeze the dough together or you will overwork it, making it tough. Keep tossing until it starts to pull together; it will look rather ropy, with some dry patches.
Divide the dough in half, firmly press each half into a ball, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, pressing down to flatten each ball into a 4-inch disk. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. Makes about 20 ounces dough, enough for 2 open galettes or 1 covered tart.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. When you are ready to roll out the dough, take one disk from the refrigerator at a time. Let it soften slightly so that it is malleable but still cold. Unwrap the dough and press the edges of the disk so that there are no cracks. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the disk into a 14-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Brush off excess flour from both sides with a dry pastry brush.
Transfer the dough to your parchment-lined baking sheet. To make the almond-amaretti powder, toss a quarter cup each of ground almonds, unbleached all-purpose flour, sugar and pulverized amaretti. Sprinkle a quarter cup of the almond-amaretti powder evenly over the pastry, leaving a 1.5-inch border unsprinkled.
Rinse the rhubarb quickly under cold water and wipe dry with a clean towel. Trim and discard every bit of leaf and trim off and reserve the tough inch or so at the bottom end of each stalk. Cut lengthwise into quarter-inch-thick strips and crosswise into 30inch pieces. Toss the fruit pieces with three quarters cup sugar and the flour in a nonreactive mixing bowl.
Arrange the rhubarb and strawberries in the dough circle.
While rotating the tart, fold the border of exposed dough up and over itself at regular intervals, crimping and pushing it up against the outer circle of fruit, creating a containing rim that resembles a length of rope. Pinch off any excess dough. This rim must act as a dam, preventing juices from escaping while cooking, so make sure there are no folds or wrinkles that would permit such a breach. Brush the border gently with the melted butter and sprinkle it with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake in the center of the oven for about 45 minutes. Rotate the galette after about 15 minutes and push down the rhubarb with a spatula to flatten it. Rotate again after 15 more minutes to ensure even baking.
When the galette is done, remove it from the oven and slide it off the parchment directly onto a rack to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. While the galette is baking, make a glaze by boiling the reserved butt ends of the rhubarb with 1 cup sugar and a splash of water until they are soft. Strain, then brush lightly over the baked galette.
Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!