plum galette

oh martha, you had me at galette.

{you had me at galette}

i picked up a basket of some gorgeous plums at the market on sunday morning, and aside from eating a bunch of them while wandering the market, i wasn't exactly sure what i wanted to make with them.  so i did what we all do every now and then.  i looked to martha.

and do you know what she told me?  that i was good enough, smart enough and able enough to make a galette.  which is nothing more than a fancy name for a rustic {read: easy!} pie.  i've always found these rustic, open-faced pies to be so gorgeous but i'd never made one.  yet.

i made my dough yesterday and refrigerated it so that it would be ready to go for a quick assembly this morning.  what a breakfast treat!  m was very please with me.  i was also very please with me.

{warm from the oven}

i made a few adjustments to martha's recipe.  verdict?  delightful.  the crust was just a little sweet with a lovely crumb and the almond meal gave the filling a nice sturdy base to sit on whithout soaking the bottom.  but the plums stole the show - they were so sweet and juicy and i loved the little hint of nutmeg i added.

rustic plum galette, based on this recipe from martha stewart
serves 8
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1/2 cup buckwheat flour + 2 tbsp
1 cup cold earth balance margarine, cut into pieces
4 tbsp + 1 tsp organic cane sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cardamom
nutmeg for dusting
1/2 cup ice water
1/4 cup raw almonds
5 or 6 fresh, local plums
1 tbsp almond milk

{sweet plums}

{dough, rolled}

{plums, arranged}

{edged, folded}

to make the pastry, combine the flours, earth balance, salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar.  pulse to combine until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.  sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the ice water and pulse again.  add more ice water as need be a tablespoon at a time until the dough is crumbly but will hold together if you squeeze it between two fingers.  {i found i only needed 1 tablespoon of ice water after the 1/4 cup.}  remove the dough and shape it into a disk, being careful not to handle it too much, then wrap it in plastic and place it in the fridge to chill at least 1 hour.

clean out the food processor and add the almonds, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1/2 tsp cardamom, and 2 tablespoons of flour and pulse until it's a coarse meal.  set aside.  wash, pit and slice up your plums.

once the dough has chilled, roll it out on a floured surface to be about a 1/4 inch thick.  transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  spread the almond mixture onto the dough, then pile on the plums leaving about a 2 inch boarder.  {you can be fancy with the fruit placement, or throw them on haphazardly - really, either way it's going to look and taste amazing.}  now for my favourite part, fold up the dough over the fruit towards the middle.  sprinkle with nutmeg.  place this in the oven to chill, and preheat the oven to 350f.  brush the edges of the crust with almond milk and sprinkle the galette with 1 tablespoon of sugar.  bake it until the crust is golden and the underside is cooked through, about 70 minutes.

{fresh plums + a flaky crust}

{yes please}

eat this for dessert, eat this with tea, or do as we did and eat it for breakfast.  this really was such a simple recipe but one to impress for sure.  thanks martha for that little boost of self confidence i needed this morning.

"anyone can master this recipe." was all i needed to hear.