Conscious Food Choices

Quasi-raw, butter, and my favorite Peach Gallette

For a while I have been thinking about my own eating habits as being “quasi-raw”… this  could be anywhere from 75% – 95% raw, and is totally flexible depending on whats in season, what’s on hand, what country I happen to be in, and who is coming for dinner.

I do believe in the virtues of raw food, and although much of the flavor of fresh (see Addicted to FRESH), comes from uncooked foods, I love also being able to mix it up by taking more traditional cooked/baked recipes and loading them up with really fresh seasonal fruits or veggies, and turning people ON to that freshness in other ways.

Since my background is that of a professional pastry chef, and I LOOOOVE food,  all sorts of food…I want to say that there are some things that are not great for you, but cannot be substituted for by anything else, and one of them is butter. Really good butter. Fresh from the farmers market, organic, grass fed when possible, or at least French or European. (You have to be able to smell it, or it doesn’t count).

Can you smell it when you look at this photo? What I love about this tart is the incredible simplicity of it – the flavor is simple bright fresh peach, nestled in a flaky pure butter crust, the shape is as organic and free-form as you want to make it, and it takes no time to pull together with any fruits you happen to have on hand.

Fresh Peach Gallette

Perfect Butter Crust:

• 1/2 c butter, frozen
• 1 1/2 c unbleached white flour (can use up to 1/2 c wwheat pastry flour)
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 ice water, with squeeze of lemon

This can be done by hand, but its incredibly easy and fast in a food processor or mini-prep:

Chop butter into 8 -10 pieces and combine with flour in mini-prep. Pulse until butter is no larger than course bread crumbs. Stop, add salt and 4 -5 T of the iced water and pulse just a few seconds more to slightly combine. Turn out into a medium mixing bowl and toss lightly with a fork, adding 1 -2 T water if nessesary until the mixture just holds a ball. Pat lightly into a 1 inch circle and chill for at least 1/2 hour, while you prepare the fruit.

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare fruit:

Peach Mixture:

• 4 -5 peaches, washed and sliced thinly
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/4 t almond extract
• 1/4 c Agave syrup, to taste
• 1 t arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
• pinch salt
• pinch nutmeg and cinnamon

Combine fruit and remaining ingredients and allow to macerate for 10  -15 minutes while you roll the crust.

Roll the chilled dough into a large circle, 3 -4 inches beyond diameter of the the pan you are using. This is a freeform tart, so you can make it in anything you have – its supposed to be rustic. I like using an 11′ glass quiche pan (shown above).

Pile fruit in center of crust, even out, and then fold the pastry sides gently towards the middle, so they lay directly onto the fruit, leaving the middle exposed. Crazy, uneven shapes are fine – part of the charm of this tart.

Bake for about 40 minutes at 375, then reduce to 350 and bake for another 20 -30 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the peach juice is thickend slightly.

Remove from oven and brush the exposed peaches with a bit of the juice form the tart to moisten them and make them shine. Serve warm for dessert, and then finish off the next morning for breakfast!

Options:

• Add a smattering of blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries
• Replace cinnamon with zest of 1/2 lemon
• Replace peaches with nectarines, plums, or any other stonefruit in season
• Replace stonefruit with apples or pears, or combination.
• Try adding chopped crystallized ginger and a few cranberries.
• Use maple syrup instead of agave, or use a combination

January 28, 2010 - Posted by Jorin Hawley | "Evil Butter" Recipes, Desserts, Food Consciousness, Fresh, Recipes, Sugar Free/Unrefined Recipes | butter, peach gallette, peach tart, quasi-raw