Rhubarb & Strawberry Galettes

It's been so gloomy out the past few days, but this weather makes me all the more grateful that our May long weekend was so gorgeous. I booked off an additional two days from work to turn it into a five day weekend, as did my mom (who came up to visit), and we had an awesome family weekend that included seeing Fleetwood Mac in concert, shopping on Whyte Ave, and wandering around the jungle of flowers and plants at the Enjoy Centre. On Saturday we all went to have lunch on the Manor Bistro's sunny patio (if you live in Edmonton and haven't been to this little hidden gem, you need to go. Like, right now). Afterward we went on a leisurely walk up 124th Street - we purposely skipped dessert at the restaurant so we could go to Duchess for a treat. It was packed in there, as usual, and I panic-bought the most delicious looking thing I could see through the crowd of customers - a rhubarb galette. I demolished it before we even got back to the car. 

Don't let the word "galette" fool you - this is the most unpretentious dessert I can think of. It's basically just a free-form pie; you can make it in minutes with whatever fruit you have on hand. You could even use a thawed store-bought pastry shell and make this delicious, rustic dessert in record time. And if you make smaller galettes, like I did, you can pick them up once they've cooled and eat them pizza-style (...for dinner. In your pyjamas. Don't judge me.)

Rhubarb Galette

Adapted from recipes from Epicurious and The Telegraph

Makes 1 large, 2 medium, or 4 small galettes

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes
± 3 tablespoons ice cold water
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

2 cups chopped rhubarb
1 cup fresh strawberries, quartered
2/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Juice from half an orange
Egg wash: 1 egg, lightly beaten with a splash of water
Sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

To make the pastry (with a food processor): mix the flour, salt, and sugar together for a few seconds. Add the butter and pulse the processor until the mixture is coarse and has pea-sized clumps of butter in it. Add the vinegar and about 2-3 tablespoons of water and mix on low - you want the dough to just come together but not be sticky - if you need to add more water, do it a tiny bit at a time.
To make the pastry (without a food processor): mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until you get a mealy, crumbly texture. Add the vinegar and water as described above.
Gently form the dough into a disc shape and wrap in plastic wrap. Put it in the freezer while you make the filling (about 5-10 minutes; you can also chill it in the fridge for 1-2 hours).

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat. In a large bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cinnamon and orange juice; leave this to sit for about 10 minutes to draw out the juices of the fruit. [Note: I followed the Telegraph's suggestion and added orange zest - it gives the filling a fairly citrusy flavour, even with just half an orange's zest. You can add it if you like, but I think I prefer the classic strawberry/rhubarb/cinnamon flavour by itself]. 

While the filling is sitting, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, until it's a round shape about 0.5 cm (1/4 inch) thick. I used a small plate as a guide to cut out two circles, but you could cut out smaller circles or leave it whole for one big galette. Place your pastry dough on your prepared baking tray and make a heap of fruit filling in the centre, leaving a 10 cm/4 inch border of pastry around it. Fold the pastry up around the filling, pinching it gently as you go to create a little open parcel to hold in all the juices. Like so:

 

Brush the pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the pastry is flaky and the filling is bubbling. (I ran out of eggs for an egg wash, so my pastry didn't get that golden sheen - but it still tasted great!)

Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving with ice cream, crème fraîche, or vanilla yogurt mixed with a bit of powdered sugar. Sharing your galette with others is totally optional.