Nectarine-Blackberry Galette.

John and I were invited to a small dinner party last weekend. On a whim, I decided to bring something sweet to contribute to the evening. I picked up some summertime fruit- fat, juicy blackberries and perfectly ripe nectarines. I remembered a simple recipe I saw on a cooking show once and pulled up a few recipes for a galette, which is basically a rustic pastry filled with whatever you want. Yum!

For such a beautiful end result, the recipe was surprisingly quick and easy! To make the dough, I used the food processor. I combined flour, sugar, salt, and some cinnamon before adding a stick of cold butter, cut into little cubes. I gave the processor a few “pulses” to break up the butter into crumbs. Next, I added a little lemon juice and a few tablespoons of ice water and combined it until a dough ball formed. Done! I wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and let it hang out in the fridge until I was ready to make the galette.

The dough was simple to make, and it’s the most difficult part of the recipe. For the fruit filling, I sliced nectarines and mixed them in a bowl with blackberries, brown sugar, a little corn starch, sea salt, a dash of vanilla, and the seeds from a big vanilla bean (from our honeymoon!). I added the zest from the lemon I used for the dough, too. A few good stirs and the juice from the berries made the mixture turn into a delicious sugary sauce. You can see the lemon zest and vanilla seeds!

I put on my great grandmother’s apron to roll out the dough. It doesn’t matter if the edges of the dough are a mess- a galette is supposed to be free-form! I moved the dough to a floured baking sheet and poured the whole bowl of fruit into the center of it, leaving it in a pile instead of spreading it out over the dough.

I folded the edges of the dough over the fruit, leaving a big exposed section of glistening blackberries and nectarines. You really can’t mess up here. I love that kind of baking! To finish off the dough, I brushed it with an egg wash and sprinkled cinnamon-sugar over it. It baked for 35 minutes and came out of the oven deliciously browned. Yum!

At our friends’ house, we devoured grilled escolar tacos on the patio as the sun was setting. I love a summer night filled with friends and laughter. The galette begs for homemade whipped cream or even ice cream, but was delectable on its own. You can really taste the fresh fruit, and you could fill it with whatever is in season. It was such a hit that I came home with an empty plate. Perfect summer treat.

What’s your favorite summertime dessert?

Nectarine-Blackberry Galette (adapted from Jam Packed Goodness)

For the pastry, you’ll need:

• 1 ¼ cups of flour
• 1 heaping tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
• 4 tablespoons of ice water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (zest it before you juice it, for later!)
• Dash of cinnamon

For the filling, you’ll need:

• ½ cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons corn starch
• Big pinch of sea salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Seeds from one large vanilla bean pod
• Zest of one lemon
• 3+ cups of your favorite/in-season fruit. I used two nectarines and a pint of blackberries.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Move the rack to the lowest level.

In a food processor, mix the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture turns to crumbs. Add the lemon juice and then one tablespoon of water at a time, mixing in each one, until it turns into a ball of dough.

Roll out the ball of dough into a thin circle. Don’t worry if the edges are rough! Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust it with flour. Move the dough onto the baking sheet.

In a bowl, combine the fruit, brown sugar, corn starch, vanilla, vanilla seeds, salt, and lemon zest. Mix well. Pour the fruit onto the center of the dough. Fold the edges of the dough over the fruit, leaving a large exposed portion of fruit.

Brush the dough with an egg wash and sprinkle plenty of cinnamon and sugar over it. Bake on the low rack for 35 minutes, or until the dough is perfectly browned and delicious. Serve at room temperature with homemade whipped cream, ice cream, or nothing at all. Yay, summer! Yum.

Hungry for more? Check out the collection of recipes on the FOOD BLISS page.

One year ago: I made mojito popsicles for our big summer bash!