Mixed Berry Galette

There are still plenty of great berries out there, so I thought I would try my hand at a galette this week. I had a wonderful mix of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries available and a galette is so much easier than a pie for several reasons: you only have to make one crust, and since it is "rustic" you can get away with having things a little messy.  Which, frankly, it was on a warm afternoon in my kitchen.

It was wonderful, though. Not too sweet, and the berry flavor really came through.  I used a butter crust (I'm usually a lard girl for pastry crust) and it was silky and smooth. Perfect!


 Mixed Berry Galette

Oven: 425 degrees, rack in lower third of oven.

Prepare butter pie dough:
Stir together
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 t. salt

Add:
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut up
2 TB vegetable shortening 

I mix this all in my food processor until all is in pea-sized bits. (You can also do it old-school and cut it in with a pastry blender or use your fingers.  I love doing it in a food processor and find the results to be fantastic.)

Sprinkle with:
3 TB ice water

Blend just until it holds together.  You may need to add another 1 tsp to 1 TB of water to hold ingredients together.  Shape it into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill until needed. 

Prepare the berries:

Use any mix of berries you like to equal 3 cups.  Wash and pat dry.  If using larger berries like strawberries, cut them up so they are all approximately the same size.

Mix in a bowl with:
2 TB cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1 TB lemon zest
1 TB lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Take your dough out of the refrigerator and roll out into a 10-12 inch disc. Line a large baking sheet with foil and butter the foil. Put the disc of dough on the pan, then put the berry mix on the dough. Fold the dough up over the berries, forming a rough 1 inch border around the berries.

 Brush the pastry with:


1 egg, lightly beaten

Dot the berry mixture with:

1 TB unsalted butter, cut up in small cubes

Sprinkle the whole thing with:
1 TB sugar (I use raw or turbinado sugar for this because i like the crunchy texture)

Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until crust is brown and fruit juices have thickened.  Serve warm with ice cream, if desired.

Adapted from Epicurious.