Friday, September 20, 2013

Fresh Fig Galette

We planted a Chicago Hardy fig thinking this variety would do best here given the cooler mountain temperatures. And it has. The 5 year old tree has at least tripled in size this season and is loaded with fruit. But the problem is, the fruits really aren't very good eaten directly from the tree for some reason? They ripen quickly toward the end of the season, and get mushy and off-tasting quick. If you try to eat one before it's perfectly ripe, there is hardly a hint of sweetness and the texture is....just bad, but if you miss the window of just-right ripeness the sugars taste fermented. So instead of letting the wasps and ants have their way with them, I harvested as many as I could before they got too ripe, and sliced them and baked them into a galette as an experiment. Turns out, this is the way to eat this variety. They baked down perfectly, got a little jammy, and became sticky and sweet.  A butter crust with just a pinch of sugar is a good, flaky counter to the fig's baked-down gooeyness.
A very fine autumn treat!

Fresh Fig Galette:

Filling:
*aprox 20 fresh figs, stems removed, quartered lengthwise
*2 Tablespoons butter, cut into small cubes
*1 Tablespoon sugar

Butter Pastry: (makes enough for one large galette)
*1 1/4 cups organic flour
*1/2 tsp sea salt
*2 Tablespoons raw sugar
*8 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed
*3-4 Tbsp ice water

Preheat oven to 375.
Place flour, salt and sugar in a food processor fitted with a pastry blade. Blend. Add the cold butter and blend to a course meal. With blade running, slowly add the ice water one tablespoon at a time until dough forms. Transfer dough onto a floured work surface. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap or parchment and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Remove from freezer and unwrap. Return to floured work surface. Roll dough to desired thickness, about 1/4 inch. Transfer to a baking stone or baking sheet. Trim edges to make a circle.
Arrange fig slices in a large ring toward the center of the dough, allowing 2 inches of free space between fruit and edge of the dough. Repeat within the first ring of sliced figs until dough is filled with arranged fruit. Fold edges of pastry dough over onto the 1st ring of arranged fig slices to create a crust. Continue folding until fruit is bordered by folded dough.
Sprinkle fruit with cubes of butter and sugar.
Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until pastry is golden. Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving.

3 comments:

  1. Hey Homie. I think I am going to make this for my mom;s birthday this week. I also might make a quince cake, or I might stick to something familiar for my second dessert (like the chocolate cake from your blog). Either way, I am quite excited to do the fig galette. I made the dough last night. Thanks for walking the good path.

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  2. Hey, thanks for walking it with me! SO glad you are feeling better enough to think about food. What a nice birthday gesture.

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