Nectarine Galette with Lemon and Thyme
Galettes are dead simple, especially if you’re use this cheat method. You can, of course, make your own pie crust, but this is a great way to get a lovely seasonal dessert if you’re on a time crunch.
Ok, I have to be honest here. I accidently bought a frozen pie crust instead of frozen puff pastry. I couldn’t just let it take up valuable space in the freezer, so I made this simple treat with it. It turned out great and saved me a bit of time too!
Use what’s in season. Winter is great for apples; summer is great for stone fruit. I have a mini melon baller, which works great at removing cherry pits, but if you don’t want to go to that much trouble, grab some of those frozen cherries that are shoved in the back of your freezer. (You can also omit them and add another nectarine.)
The Recipe
Yield: One 7 - 8” galette/serves 6 with store-bought ice cream
Ingredients:
1 - 9” frozen pie crust roll
3 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 lemon – zested
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves – removed from stem
3 small or 2 medium nectarines – slice in half, remove pit, slice each half into 4 pieces
1 cup cherries – slice in half, remove pits
1 Tbsp plant milk
2 tsp white sugar – for dusting
Directions:
1. Remove the frozen pie crust roll from freezer and allow to thaw at room temperature for 3 – 5 hours until soft enough to roll out.
2. Preheat oven to 400F.
3. On a parchment-lined cookie sheet, roll out the pie crust and set aside. If the pie crust is smaller than 11”, place the pie crust on a work surface, sandwiched between two pieces of parchment paper. (If the crust comes rolled in plastic, you can use this in place of one of the sheets of parchment paper.). Using a rolling pin, roll the crust out until it makes a 11” circle. Return the pie crust to the cookie sheet and remove the top layer of parchment paper. Set aside.
4. In a bowl toss 2 Tbsp white sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, thyme, sliced nectarines, and cherries until all the fruit is well coated.
5. Pile into the center of the pie crust and fold the crust toward the center, overlapping and pinching any gaps as you go. Pinching and overlapping will help keep the juices inside the galette. If you find the pastry is too sticky, you can use the parchment paper to lift the edges of the crust.
5. Brush the flaps of pie crust with plant milk and dust with the remaining 2 tsp sugar.
6. Place the galette back in the freezer for 10 minutes to allow the crust to slightly firm up.
7. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling. In order to activate the cornstarch, which thickens the juices, the juices from the fruit and lemon need to boil. If the pastry starts to get too brown, loosely cover with a sheet of foil and continue to bake. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving.
To remove the pit from stone fruit that is not stone-free:
Choose fruit that is firm. Using a small, sharp paring knife, slice the fruit in half around the stone from top to bottom. Twist each half in opposite directions, like you’re opening a jar, until they come loose. The half with the stone still attached, slice in half again from top to bottom. Twist again to pry apart. Use your fingers to pull the stone away from the last quarter. Slice the fruit so you have 8 equally sized pieces.
To remove the pit from cherries:
Using a small, sharp paring knife, slice the cherry in half around the pit from top to bottom. Twist each half in opposite directions, like you’re opening a tiny jar, until they come loose. Scoop out the pit using a mini melon baller* and discard.
*A mini melon baller can be found online, although I found mine at a commercial kitchen supply store in a kit that contained other garde manger cooking tools. Just google “garde manger mini melon baller”, but don’t get the one with the spring…you’ll see what I mean. If you don’t want to fuss with the cherries, just swap them out with an additional nectarine/peach.
