Apricots are available anytime and everywhere – as apricot jam/preserve and dried apricots – but fresh apricots, which have a very short season, are not. I missed out on getting fresh ones the past couple years, but this summer I got them right on time.
A farmer at my local farmers market told me that her trees have a harvest season of only 3 weeks. Fresh ripe apricots, with their pale yellow skin, subtle aroma and delicate flavor, may not be as sweet smelling and voluptuous as peaches. But they have their own provocative character, young and fleeting… almost reminds me of a sweet, gentle girlfriend when I was much younger.
I learned California’s apricot production has declined almost one tenth in the last 30 years and only a few varieties are available now. California growers cannot compete with the overseas products (another problem of globalization. Everyone, buy local products!). It seems the most popular apricot in California is the Blenheim, which I used for this galette. You may make this galette from canned or jarred fruit, but I would recommend using fresh apricots. It will taste totally different and leave you with an enduring early summer memory.
APRICOT GALETTE
2017-07-10 17:36:24
Serves 8
Simple yet wonderful tart in early summer. Great with French vanilla ice cream.
Prep Time
45 min
Cook Time
45 min
Ingredients
- 10 ounces galette dough* (recipe below), rolled into a 14-inch circle and chilled
- ¼ cup almond-amaretti powder** (recipe below)
- 1½ pounds ripe apricots
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- Vanilla ice cream (optional for serving)
- *GALETTE DOUGH (Pâte Brisée)
- Makes about 20 oz dough, enough for 2 open galettes or tarts or 1 covered tart (pie)
- 2 cups (10 oz/ 280 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons (6 oz/ 175 g) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
- 7 tablespoons (90 ml) 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. (Butter dispersed throughout the flour in tiny pieces makes the dough tender.) Cut in the remaining 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of butter with the pastry blender, just until the biggest pieces of butter are the size of large peas, or a little larger. (These bigger pieces of butter in the dough make it flaky.)
- Dribble 7 tablespoons of ice water (that’s ½ cup less 1 tablespoon) 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 the mixture until it starts to pull together; it will look rather ropy, with some dry patches. If it looks like there are more dry patches than ropy parts, add another tablespoon of water and toss the mixture until it comes together. 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.
- (The dough will keep in the freezer for a few weeks.)
- 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 a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate at least ½ hour before using. (The rolled-out circles can be frozen and used the next day.)
- **ALMOND-AMARETTI POWDER
- Makes 1 cup
- ¼ cup ground almond
- ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup amaretti cookies, pulverized
- In a medium mixing bowl, toss all the ingredients together. Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, this will keep for a few weeks.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place a pizza stone, if you have one, on the lower third rack and the other rack on upper third.
- Remove the pre-rolled dough from the refrigerator or freezer and place on a buttered or parchment-lined baking sheet. Evenly sprinkle the almond-amaretti powder over pastry, leaving a 1½-inch border un-sprinkled. Cut the apricots in half (quarter if they are large), removing the pits. Arrange the fruit, skin side down, in concentric circles on the dusted dough, making a single layer of snugly-touching apricot pieces and leaving the border bare. Evenly sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over the fruit.
- 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 baking, so make sure there are no folds or wrinkles that would permit such a breach. Brush the border gently with melted butter and sprinkle it with 2 tablespoons sugar.
- Bake in the lower third of the oven (preferably on a pizza stone) for about 30 minutes, until the crust is well browned. Carefully transfer the tart to the top rack, continuously bake 15 to 20 minutes more until its edges are slightly caramelized. (About 5 minutes before the tart is done, prop the oven door slightly ajar with a wooden spoon so that steam can escape and the pastry doesn’t become soggy.)
- As soon as the galette is out of the oven, use a large metal spatula to slide it off the baking sheet or parchment paper and onto a cooling rack. This keeps it from steaming and getting soggy. Let cool for 20 minutes.
- Just before serving, sprinkle the crust and edges of tart with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream, if you like.
Notes
- You can make a galette dough and almond-amaretti powder a day or two in advance.
Adapted from Chez Panisse Fruit by Alice Waters
Adapted from Chez Panisse Fruit by Alice Waters
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