Rustic Peach and Cherry Tart or Galette

With peaches still in season and the stores having dark Washington cherries, today I'm making a simple dessert. The flavors pair exceptionally well together and everyone enjoys it especially with a scoop of good vanilla ice-cream. In the US we call this a rustic fruit tart. The French call it a galette. My blueberry galette can be seen at the boom of this post. 

On the Cooling Rack

You can make this with your own pastry crust or follow my recipe which is easy in a food processor. Or you can purchase a pre-made crust. It will be good too, but you may need to rough it up a bit to give it that rustic look. Make the crust a few days ahead and keep it in your refrigerator. It will actually be better than if you make it fresh and use it immediately.


I've given you the above photo, so you can see it's not quite the same as a traditional pie. The rustic tart is formed on a cookie sheet and filled there, so it is called a tart because it is more flat. You simply place the prepared fruit in the center and turn the edge of the pastry up crimping it together. 

Delicious with a Scoop of Ice Cream

Below I've given you some very basic ingredients with ways to change the recipe to use what fruits you have. Finding good tasting fruit is really the key. Peaches should be peeled, but as we know that requires a dunk in boiling water, a chill in an ice bath and then sliding off the skins. Nectarines don't need peeling. So use whatever good fruit you can find and whatever you have time to prepare. My favorite combinations are peaches/cherries,  plums/raspberries, peaches/blackberries, apricots/blueberries, and nectarines/raspberries.

Ingredients.

1 pastry crust, my recipe or store bought.
1 pound peaches, nectarines, apricots, or plums
1 cup cherries or berries or a bit more
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3-5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon corn starch or Clear Jel
1 teaspoon of flour or powdered tapioca
1 tablespoon milk or an egg
1 tablespoon course sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

Peel peaches if using. Halve and pit stone fruit and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges, leaving the cherries whole (but pitted) or cut in half. Gently wash and dry berries. Combine fruit in medium bowl (you should have about 3 cups) and toss with lemon juice. Combine the granulated sugar and starch two starches of your choice, and sprinkle over the fruits and toss gently to combine. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350F degrees.

Prepare your crust and place on a flour-dusted parchment lined baking sheet with sides. Check the fruit mixture and see how much juice has been rendered. If it is too watery, drain off the excess juice or add more thickening starch and combine. 

Mound fruit in center of dough, leaving two inch border around edge. Brush the edge of the dough about once inch in form the edge with milk or a scrambled egg. Carefully grasp one edge of dough and fold up over fruit, leaving an open area in the center. Repeat around circumference of tart, overlapping dough and pinching together the wet sections as necessary to secure, but do not press dough into fruit. Working quickly, brush dough with milk or egg, and sprinkle with coarse sugar. 

Bake until crust is deep golden brown and fruit is bubbling, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool tart on baking sheet on wire rack 10 minutes. Using wide metal spatula or pizza peel, loosen tart from parchment and carefully slide tart off parchment onto wire rack; cool about 30 minutes, or to room temperature, about 1 hour. Cut into wedges and serve with good vanilla ice-cream. 

Julian's Fresh Blueberry Galette

Note: Tart does not hold up well and should ideally be consumed within 24 hours of when t is made.

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