End of Summer Galette

Our old apartment in Chicago didn’t make grilling very easy. We couldn’t have a grill on our tiny wood landing out back and since we were on the third floor, it was a real commitment to grill in the building’s courtyard. Not to mention lighting a grill meant smoking out all our neighbors. It did happen from time to time, usually with a handful of friends and neighbors. The couple that lived below us built some benches, tables and flower boxes for the courtyard and also strung some white globe lights. It had the feeling of a quaint European café.

Now that we have a house and a yard, we bought ourselves a gas grill and have been taking full advantage of it all summer! Every time we’ve gotten an unusual vegetable in our CSA box we weren’t sure what to do with I’ve said, “Let’s just throw it on the grill!” With the end of summer drawing near, we’ve been trying to squeeze in as many BBQ’s as we can with friends and family. Last weekend, we were invited to a neighbors for food, drinks and shenanigans. While I was told we didn’t need to bring anything, I had the hankering for something sweet. Racking my brain for something yummy, but easy, I recalled having made a galette once.

I sent Evan off to the store with my list of ingredients: raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, nectarines, a lemon, eggs, sugar and pie crust. I’ve never been a good baker, so I wasn’t about to try making my own pie crust. I did note “easy” above;)

I used 4 cups of fruit total for one galette. Wash all of the berries and the nectarines. Hull and chop the strawberries. Pit and chop the nectarines. While you’re tackling the fruit, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Sprinkle the fruit with 3 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice. Stir to combine.

Roll out one pie crust to a 12 inch circle on some parchment paper and transfer it to a rimmed cookie sheet. RIMMED. Very important.

Scoop the fruit mixture into a pile in the center of the pie crust. If any lemon juice is left lingering in your mixing bowl, try not to transfer it with the fruit. Wrap the edges of the pie crust up around the fruit, folding where necessary. The top of your galette should be open.

Whisk one egg with a fork in a small dish and brush it over the exposed crust. Sprinkle with some additional sugar. You could use larger turbinado sugar crystals if you’d like, but I just used regular sugar.

Cook for 35-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and the center is bubbly! Remember how I emphasized using a rimmed cookie sheet? And suggested leaving excess lemon juice in the bowl?

All of that juicy fruit goodness will try to escape! I made the most of it and used a spatula to scoop up the sticky syrup while it was still warm. I returned it to the center of the galette for extra deliciousness.  Let cool at least 5 minutes before serving.

While the galette is great on it’s own, I suggest serving it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a thick, sweet balsamic vinegar. Better yet, both!

Enjoy!

Side note: After I put my galette in the oven I realized that I had just enough fruit left over, and another pie crust, to make a second one! After it cooled, I transferred it to a plate, covered it with Press & Seal and stuck it in the freezer for a few days.