In my early twenties I waitressed at a small cafe in Little Italy that served lunch but mostly coffee & desserts. One of the desserts on the menu was apple galette. By process of elimination I figured out that this mean the apple pie-like dessert in the glass case besides the fact that I didn't know what a galette was & I never really asked. Flash forward & I'm watching the Food Network (shocking I know) & Giada was making this apple galette. I still didn't really know what a galette was but I knew I wanted to make it. So I did with a slight variation of the ingredients using what I had on hand. I honestly am not sure how it made it to the table at my girl friend's wine club since I nearly killed it twice - once before I even baked it (there are photos so click through to see how I nearly lost it!)
Nearly 24 hours after I made this tasty apple-goat-cheese-cherry-almond concoction I was explaining the trials and tribulation of how it almost didn't make it to my coworker and another woman in the elevator. At one point I said "I don't even know what a galette is" to which the stranger/friend in the elevator responded, "It means the apples are arranged in a circle." My elevator stranger/friend was kind of right. So after years of not finding out the true meaning of a galette I found the answer here.
In a nutshell, it's a flaky free-formed pastry filled with either a savory or sweet filling. Regardless it's delish. As Giada explained this galette - it's like a dessert and cheese plate all in one - making it a great app or dessert or both!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend! We'll be celebrating the marriage of two great people - Congrats Adrian & Aileen!
Apple Galette with Goat Cheese, Sour Cherry, and Almond Topping adapted from Giada de Laurentiis' recipe.
Tart
- 2 tablespoons (¼ stick) unsalted butter
- 3 Braeburn apples (1 ½ pounds), peeled, halved, cored, halves cut into 6 ½-inch wedges
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon cornstargch
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice - 1 frozen puff pastry sheet (try Trader Joe's!), thawed
- 1 large egg, beaten to blend in small bowl + 1 tablespoon water
- sugar for sprinkling
- 1 4-ounce package chilled soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled into ⅓- to ½-inch chunks
- ⅓ cup tart dried cherries (such as Montmorency from Trader Joe’s)
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds, toasted
Make it!
Tart
- Position rack in center and preheat oven to 375°F.
- Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add apples; sprinkle with salt.
- Sauté until almost tender, tossing occasionally, about 10 minutes.
- Remove skillet from the heat.
- Whisk sugar, spices, and cornstarch in a small bowl until no cornstarch lumps remain.
- Sprinkle spiced sugar and lemon juice over apples in skillet; toss to blend. Cool to lukewarm.
- Place a large sheet of parchment paper on work surface. Unfold pastry sheet on parchment; sprinkle both sides lightly with flour.
- Roll out pastry to 12-inch square, lifting, turning, and sprinkling with more flour to keep from sticking.
- Using a fork prick the dough so that it releases some of the air pockets that may form.
- Make egg wash by beating the egg together with water.
- Brush pastry all over with some beaten egg.
- TRANSFER YOUR PARCHMENT PAPER & PASTRY TO THE BAKING SHEET NOW. (see what happens in the photo below if you don't).
- Starting 2-inches in from edge (to leave wide border), arrange apple wedges close together in a circle on the pastry. Arrange remaining apples in a smaller circle in center (ends may overlap first ring of apples).
- Fold pastry border partially over filling, pleating pastry in loose folds. Brush folded up pastry border with some beaten egg.
- Sprinkle the crust with some sugar.
- Scrape juices from skillet over apples.
- Bake galette until pastry edge is deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
Topping
- In a dry (no oil or butter) skillet toast almond slices for about 3 minutes or until golden brown over low-medium heat. Let cool for about 5 minutes.
- Toss goat cheese, cherries and almonds in a medium bowl until evenly distributed (cheese should remain in distinct pieces). Chill until ready to use.
- Remove tart from oven. Sprinkle topping evenly over filling.
- Return galette to oven. Bake 10 minutes until the topping begins to brown.
- Cool 20 minutes to serve warm or up to 2 hours to serve at room temperature.
Don't forget to use your garbage bowl! |
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