Greengage galette fine

Hi!

I hope you are well wherever you are. Here, the leaves are starting to turn golden and the apricots, peaches and cherries in the markets are giving way to figs, apples, pears and plums. Fall is just around the corner.

Every season I think “the produce doesn’t get better than this”. Citrus in winter, rhubarb and mangoes in spring, all the berries and stone fruits of summer. And plums, apples, pears and quinces in fall. Forgive all I have forgotten, these are just some of my favourites.

We are beginning to plan what to plant in the garden next year. Fruit trees, berry bushes, rhubarb and herbs…Which varieties taste better, which are better for cooking and which are best eaten raw?

One fruit tree I have to have is greengage. The tiny, golden green plums that taste a little like the best apricot you have ever eaten, drizzled with sweet orange blossom honey. (Apricots or pluots are a good substitute for greengages, if you can’t find them in a local market or neighbours garden!)

I wanted to make something rather simple to just let the plums shine in all their juicy glory. A galette or a tart seemed the best choice and since I last year made a greengage tart with plum kernel pastry cream, well. A galette/tarte fine hybrid it is.

I baked my galette fine in 10cm tart rings to keep the shape of the pastry, but feel free to do freehand or bake in a tin if that’s your preference. You can easily swap out my pate brisée for puff pastry, if you happen to have that in your freezer.

Greengage galette fines

Makes 6 galettes

Pate brisée

150 g all-purpose flour
100g cold butter cut into 1 cm cubes
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon ice cold water

36-40 greengages
50g sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Optional: orange blossom (or similar floral) honey to drizzle

Add flour, butter and salt to a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.Drizzle the water around the flour mixture and pulse to incorporate until the dough comes together.

Gather the dough into a ball, press into a disc and wrap in cling film. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before using.

Roll out the dough into a large square, about 3mm thickness, and cut out 6 10cm rings and place inside 6 10cm tart rings placed on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Halve the greengages and remove the plum kernel. Cut the gages into quarters and arrange on top of the 6 pastry discs. Whisk together the sugar, ginger and cornstarch and sprinkle over the plums.

Refrigerate the galettes for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan). Bake the galettes for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and fragrant. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 10-15 minutes in the rings. Serve slightly warm with a scoop of ice cream (I served mine with lemon verbena & orange blossom ice cream)