Summer truly is a great season to take advantage of the organic fruits that mother nature has intended for us to enjoy come harvest time. Hubby and I are lucky enough to have inherited a quaint orchard in the backyard of our new home. There are approximately 20 fruit trees consisting of apples, apricots, figs, pears, plums, and a full-grown pepper tree, as well. We also have some wild grapes, which pollinated from the winery next door, that have spread throughout the premise of the garden. Here are a few pictures I took, some trees of which I’ve marked ‘Not sure’ because I can’t tell them apart from peaches to apricots whilst they are still green. Enjoy!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Sharing with you today is a spontaneous recipe that originated from a text that hubby sent me from the other house. “I’m going for a quick swim and picking apricots right after”. Immediately I thought galette! Thus without further ado…here is my rendition of an apricot galette but with a hint of rum to boost!

Ingredients (For one galette)

For a basic flaky pie dough

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, organic (optional)
• Pinch of salt
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold butter, diced
• 3 tablespoons ice-cold water

Variations:

• For a rich, flaky pie dough, use all butter and mix 1 egg yolk with 2 tablespoons ice-cold water.
• For a sweet flaky pie dough, stir in 2 tablespoons of superfine sugar (baker’s sugar) after the butter has been rubbed in.

For the apricot compote

• 1 dozen fresh apricots, peeled, seeds removed and sliced
• 1 cup baker’s fine sugar, or brown sugar, plus extra
• 1 pony shot of rum (2 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (if you want a nutty flavor, you can use almond extract)

For the galette glaze

• 1/2 stick of organic butter, melted
• sugar to spread

Directions

Preheat oven at 400° F

For the pie dough

1. Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt. Rub in the cold butter between your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over most of the water and bring together the mixture into lumps. Sprinkle a few drops of the remaining water over any dry areas and bring those together, too. Don’t add too much water all at once, as too much results in tough pastry.
2. Bring together the lumps with your fingertips and gently knead together to form a smooth disc.
3. Wrap tightly in a plastic wrap; chill for 30 minutes before rolling and shaping.
4. Flour the work surface and roll out the dough, giving quarter turns.
5. Carefully place the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Set aside until ready for the apricot compote.

For the apricot compote and galette

1. Wash out fresh apricots; slice and remove seeds. I like to peel off the skin, as well. Since the apricots I used were picked from the tree, some were more ripe than others, so they were not all ‘pretty slices’ but since they were a compote, the mushy ones blended in well.
2. In a small sauce pan, add together the apricots, sugar, vanilla extract and rum.
3. Gently mix for about 5 minutes just to cook out the alcohol, but not to mush out the apricots.
4. Scoop out the apricot compote with a slotted spoon onto the dough. Arrange the fruit on top leaving about 2 inches clear around the dough.
5. Fold the edges of dough nearest you towards the center, rotating as you fold. Remember not-so-perfect folds equals rustic. So be creative and go for it! The important aspect is there are no cracks for the juices to leak out.
6. Brush the outside layer of the galette with the melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
7. Place in middle rack for about 45 minutes, more or less depending on how caramelized you want things and the area in which you live. We are in a higher altitude so I had the galette in the oven for about 30 minutes.
8. Let it sit for about a minute or two and enjoy!

Variation: This was great served warm with ice cream, and the apricot rum sauce (that came from the compote). If you’re interested in my homemade ice cream recipe, click here. Follow the directions and simply omit the pistachios if you want just the vanilla ice cream. —tca©