Go Galette Go! My heart will always Galette on…

5 Beautiful Galettes: Red Pear Galette, Peach Tej Patta Galette, Panchphoron Mango Chutney Galette, Cherry Clove Galette n Paneer Tomato Basil Galette

Some recipes lift you up, some recipes push you down, some recipes don’t make any impression at all, some recipes become a part of you- Galette with fresh fruits is such a recipe that impresses you n becomes something that you wanna make time n time again to the point that now I’m looking for an excuse of when I can make them again. So until more galettes come out of my oven I will tell you about them, they are a crispy buttery base on which fresh/poached/candied fruits are baked, sometimes a layer of frangipane is added between the fruits n the base. They are often savory, sometimes topped with tomato n basil n cheese, sometimes spinach, feta cheese, pine nuts, mushrooms, ham, eggs, cheese -the variation are endless whether sweet or savory.

The amazing thing about a galette is that they are freely formed, they are not looking perfect like a tart, you can just cut them into rough circles or pleat their sides, a galette does not have a high side like a tart, its so much fun playing with their unsymmetrical shape n they look wonderful with all of that. I will always suggest eat your galette when they are warm, the warm buttery flakiness of the base, the light crunch dissolving with the flavor of the fruit, it’s unreal n ridiculously good. I kept on biting them even when they were cold n my calorie count jumped out of the window n didn’t come back in a long time, so the day you make them, eat some galette n skip other food n eat some more galette, I am only kidding, by the way it will be a hit with children I believe.

The dough of the galette can be stored in the refrigerator for a long time, almost 2 months wrapped in cling film, so whenever you feel like having some take it out n let it come to almost room temperature, you can even roll them n prepare the discs and store them beforehand, so all you have to do it to bring them out in time and get started with the fruits n all.

For the peach version, since the peaches were still farm, I simmer them in a sugar syrup infused with tej patta known as Indian bay leaf until the they got tender but not mushy, I saved all the extra syrup for the final glaze and another burst of that sweet flavor, later I arranged the peach on the baked base.

For the Panchphoron Mango chutney, first of all I made the chutney with Panchphoron which is 5 spice mix- cumin, nigella seeds, black mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds(less in quantity), fennel seeds, this blend of whole spices produces an incredible flavor , this fantastic combination is used in Bengali cooking n used both in savory n sweet recipes.

For the red pear galette, a very ripe fruit was carefully cut n fanned onto the base n baked. It tastes incredible.

For the cherry version, they were macerated with sugar n a touch of clove n black pepper, I baked them with the stone in them, it gives an extra flavor.

For the savory version, the paneer was combined with cherry tomatoes n basil, the paneer was sautéed in caramel first, and then I gave them a touch of balsamic vinegar.

Now I will give you the recipes.

For The Recipe: You will need

For The Quick n Easy Flaky Pastry for the Base:

Butter- 110 gm, chilled in the freezer for 30-45 minutes

Flour-175 gm

Salt – a pinch

Sugar- 1 tbsp, powdered

Red Rum- 1 tbsp (cold)

Water- a little (cold)

If you are gonna make savory galette you can skip the sugar n rum

For the Peach Galette

Peach – 2 medium sized, firm

Sugar- 2/3 tbsp

Tej patta/Indian bay leaf- 2, broken in half

Pink rock salt- a pinch

water-6-9 tbsp

For the Panchphoron Mango Chutney

Green mango- 1 big, peeled and cut into stripes, leave out the seed

Panchphoron- 1 tsp

Sugar- ¾ cup, the sugar varies depending on the sourness of the mango

Turmeric- 1 pinch

Mustard oil- 1 tsp

Salt-a pinch

Black pepper- ½ tsp, freshly crushed

For the Red Pear Galette

Red pear- 1 medium, very ripe, cut along the length leaving some space near the stalk

For The Cherry Galette

Cherry- 12/14, split near the top but don’t remove the stone

Clove- 1 small, slightly roasted n powdered

Sugar-1 tbsp

Black pepper- a pinch, freshly crushed

For the Paneer Galette

Paneer-50 gm, sliced into small triangles of 2 cm thickness

Sugar- 1 tbsp

Balsamic vinegar- 2 tbsp

Salt

Basil- 3 tbsp

Cherry tomato- 10/14, halved

Green chili-1 , sliced into stripes

Red chili powder- ¼ tsp

Oil-1 tbsp

Pre-heat the oven to 220 Celsius/425 Fahrenheit.

1. First of all lets prepare the quick n easy flaky pastry for the base, so sift the flour, salt, sugar into a large bowl, take the butter out of the freezer, fold back the foil n hold it over the foil which will save it from your warm hands. Take a grater and dip the butter in flour and on the coarse side start grating the butter over the flour, dipping the butter several times in the flour so that it stays easy to grate that cold butter. You will have a big pile of grated butter on the flour, now with a blunt knife start distributing the butter all though the flour until it becomes quite homogenous , don’t use your hands yet, then add the cold rum n 1 tbsp of cold water and try to bring the dough together  still with the knife, if you feel it is not coming together add 1 tbsp more water and distribute it and wait for 1 minute, the flour needs time to absorb the water, so if you wait for 1 minute you will see the dough starts to come together, now finish with your hands to bring it all together, it should leave the bowl fairly clean with no big chunks of butter anywhere, small chunks r just fine. Now wrap it in cling film and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before using.

2. After 30 minutes take the dough out and on a lightly floured surface or between two sheets of floured cling film roll the dough out very thinly to about 1/8^th inch, 3 mm or even 2mm. I rolled out to 2 mm for my sweet galettes, then carefully with a palette knife pick them up and place them on a baking sheet.

3. Prepare all the fruits while the dough chills.

For the peach, in a saucepan mix the sugar with about 6 tbsp water, add the bay leaves, let the sugar melt on a low heat then add the peach and let it come to simmer, now let it simmer for about 10 minutes until the peach becomes tender, if water dries up add some more, it will be sticky n syrupy at the end, don’t make it dry, we need some syrup to glaze them afterwards, when the peach is tender add a tiny pinch of pink rock salt, then take them out in a bowl. Take 1 tsp of the syrup and sprinkle on top of one of the galette base and put it into the oven.

4. Take a saucepan and add the sugar and 1 ½ cup of water and let the sugar melt on a low heat, when it melts add the mango stripes and let it come to a simmer. In another frying pan heat 1 tbsp mustard oil till it just begins to smoke, then pop in the panchphoron mix and as it begins to sputter add that whole oil n spice mix over the mango n sugar solution, add the black pepper. Add a tiny pinch of turmeric and now let the whole thing simmer for about 15-20 minutes until the mangoes go very tender, taste and see if it needs any more sugar, if it is very sour add a tablespoon more. Add a pinch of salt and then take it out in a bowl, let it cool a bit. Before you place the galette in the oven arrange some mango slices from the chutney on top of the base and then into the oven.

5. For the cherry version, slice the cherries on the top part and keep them whole, sprinkle sugar and clove powder n black pepper on them and let them macerate for 15 minutes, that’s all, before you place them in the oven arrange the cherries on the base, sprinkle some more sugar on top them n then into the oven.

6. The red pear has to be sliced carefully along the length but leaving some space intact near the top so that it stays in shape so first half the pear n then slice it lengthways keeping it intact, then carefully fan out the slices and place them over the base and then spread them out a little more carefully, then into the oven.

7. In a frying pan heat the oil on a medium flame, then add the sugar and let it turn into dark caramel, as the sugar becomes caramel, lower the flame , it will soon become dark caramel, then place the paneer triangles on the caramel, they will sizzle, give them 2 minutes,  add the chopped green chili, after 2 minutes increase the heat, add the balsamic vinegar, it will sizzle , mix it well with the paneer, add a touch of red chili powder n salt, mix well, then take them off the pan.

        First arrange some of the basil leaves on the base, then arrange the paneer, then the cherry tomatoes, dip some basil leaves in oil and scatter on top the tomatoes, sprinkle with some salt n bit of extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil n pinch of pink rock salt. Pleat the sides of the galette the way you want to and then put it into the oven.

8. The galettes will need 10/15 minutes in the oven, put one baking tin on the high shelf and one in the middle, after half the time exchange their places, the galette will just begin to color at the end of the time, if this doesn’t happen at all, put the top grill on and carefully watch them, soon they will begin to color, so when they have got a bit of good color you can take them out.

I baked all the sweet galettes together, so prepare all the fruits beforehand n you bake them together.

When they are out of oven, take the peace slices and arrange on top of the base, sprinkle some syrup on them and they will look so shiny. Take some more syrup and brush the red pear with that too. Take some syrup from the mango chutney and sprinkle on top of the mango galette.

They just look so wonderful right! I know I know…now eat them while they are warm and you will know what I am talking about. Tell me how they turned out when you made them. So until the next galette I will wish you Bon Appétit.

Cherishing the Cherry Clafoutis ...

Red Cherry Clafoutis with a hint of spice to lift it to new heights and let’s not forget the old secret tradition; using cherries with pits

                                                                  Clafoutis! Clafoutis!

                                                           The cherries roll on my finger,

                                                          U loose urself, let it be, let it be

                                                         Inside my mind now u just linger.

Well that’s a new start for my blog post, with a tiny poem! A month ago when I had a box of cherries in my hand, I rubbed my chin for what all I’ll be making with them, as it turned out I made only clafoutis, the rest I ate simply. Now I always tend to believe that fruits are always best eaten alone not just for their nutritional values also because I feel their flavor is reduced at the end of it. So before making the clafoutis I had my doubts which got cleared away to some extent after I made it. You can guess why? Because the clafoutis was delicious.

                       Clafoutis come from France, the region of Limousin, almost the central region of the country. Traditionally clafoutis is always made with black cherries, but other seasonal fruits are often used in making clafoutis such as pears, prunes, apples, cranberries, blackberries. In fact there is another name often used when any fruit other than cherries are used, known as ‘Flaugnarde’. The French pronunciation of clafoutis is ‘Klafuti’ or ‘Cla-foo-tee’. Now when we do say it like that note how it makes us smile at the end of it.

                                                      It is a baked desert of fruit, traditionally of cherries, arranged in a buttered n sugared dish and a batter is poured over the cherries without completely drowning them and then baked in the oven until it is set and starts to brown on the surface. The batter is made with eggs, milk, cream, sugar, flour, butter n basically that’s it. Now the alternations happen on this basic recipe as everyone alters it with their own taste.

In my version most importantly I've kept the whole cherries with their pits as it was done traditionally unlike the versions we most see on internet where the pits have been removed for the ease of eating! But then you remove one thing and you have to deal with the loss of flavor. And talking about the ease on eating! Come on, once you know you have made a clafoutis with whole cherries your brain automatically knows not to bite into that like a blind brain!

                                                                                 I have made two versions of clafoutis-one with the pitted cherries one without. And the result is the one made with cherries with pits, was much more flavorful n more delicious. So pits make a difference. In fact reading about it in Wikipedia taught me that the pits contain an active chemical called ‘Amygdalin’, during baking some amount of this chemical is released into the clafoutis, thus creating a delicious difference. Think about saving time also, you don’t have to pit the cherries, now isn't that nice? Now if you are serving it for your guests and if you don’t want them spitting cherry pits, then you remove it before baking knowing that it will be less delicious automatically.

                                             I have used black pepper and cloves in my versions, and guess what! Cloves go so well with the cherries, esp. the one I had, it is indeed a good combination, clove is a strong spice and we have to be careful because a little goes a long way. I used red rum to macerate the cherries along with the sugar n powdered clove n black pepper. I did not have ‘kirsch’ with me which is a cherry brandy which would've been nice but I love the flavor of red rum and so does cherries.

                                                                          While making the batter which gets poured over the cherries instead of plain butter I used ‘Beurre Noisette’ which is butter that is browned in a pan until the milk solids get separated and browned and it attains a nutty flavor. I love the flavor of that in many recipes.

So now I will take you to the recipe of clafoutis right away

For The Recipe:  you will need

For macerating the cherries

250 gm whole cherries

2-3 tsp of powdered sugar

1-1 ½ tbsp of red rum               

1 clove, slightly warmed in pan n powdered

Freshly crushed black pepper

For the batter

2 eggs

2-3 tbsp of flour

2 tbsp of powdered sugar

2 tbsp of milk

60 ml single cream

Pinch of salt

1/2 clove, warmed in a pan n powdered

Freshly crushed black pepper

1/4 -1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

20 gm of brown butter-beurre noisette

For buttering the ramekins

1 tbsp of lemon/lime zest

3 tbsp of powdered sugar

Pinch of clove powder

Some soft butter

                   

Texture of the batter has to be a pouring liquid consistency, preferably thin n not very thick; keeping the texture in mind we can adjust the amount of milk and cream n flour or eggs.

Pre-heat the oven at 180 Celsius.

1.  First with a paring knife cut the cherries along its length around the pit but don’t separate the cherry in half, with your fingers open the two half a bit just to expose the flesh. Now when all the cherries are done sprinkle  about 2 tsp of powdered sugar mixed with the clove powder, sprinkle some crushed black pepper on them and then add 2-3 tsp of red rum over them, toss them in that and let them macerate for half to an hour.

2. Grate the lemon/lime zest and mix that with the powdered sugar n pinch of clove powder kept for buttering the ramekins. Now butter the ramekins well, pour the sugar mixture into them and move around the sugar over the butter coat so the sugar creates a coating over the butter layer. Set aside.

3.  Take 20 gm of butter in a pan and on a medium flame let it melt, you will notice hiss sound as it keeps getting warmed, when the sound ceases down it is beginning to go to become beurre noisette, lower the heat now and within a minute you will see the separated milk particles below the butter had started to go brown and the whole butter has become brown in color. This is it, take it off the heat.

4. Time to make the batter, so in a bowl whisk the two eggs lightly, then add a pinch of salt, the milk and whisk lightly again. Then add the flour and whisk so there isn't any lump n nicely combined. Now add the brown butter, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, half clove powdered, freshly crushed black pepper, the cream and whisk to combine. Bring out the cherries now, you will notice some amount of liquid has gathered at the bottom of the cherries, add this liquid to the batter and combine.

5. In the baking dish/ramekins first lay the cherries, the base should be covered with cherries and some over them press the cherries lightly to pack them tightly. Then slowly pour the batter over them so that the batter drowns the cherries almost ¾ but not completely. Some of the cherry surface should be exposed. Now place them in the oven at 180 Celsius for around 30 minutes until the batter starts to go lightly brown on the surface. The batter will rise during baking. The batter should be crusty outside and soft n gooey inside. Let it cool so you can handle them. Serve them on their own or with crème fresh.

Cherry Clafoutis is ready for you now. Dig in with a spoon when it is warm or I like it more when cold. Bon appétit.