Sweet Finale: Blueberry Galette

Our third and final pastry of the evening (a savoury tourtiere was first, followed by this flaky butter crust peach pie) was a blueberry galette.  My first attempt as you can see, leaked blueberry juice everywhere, as I didn't reinforce the overlapping edges enough.  It was still delicious - you could really taste the lemon in the crust - and the crust was so good.

It was so good that we demolished it that evening.   The recipe makes enough for two small galettes, so the next day (not kidding) I made a fresh peach version with the rest of the dough and the our last two fresh peaches. 

Pate Sucrée 

Makes 1 large or 2 small galettes

2 cups all-purpose flour 

2/3 cup icing sugar 

1/2 cup   unsalted butter, diced 

Grated zest of one lemon

1 egg, beaten

1.Sift together flour and icing sugar
2.Work in butter; form a well in the center of the flour
3.Add lemon zest and vanilla bean scrapings to well
4.Add beaten egg to well and 1-2 tablespoons of ice water to start
5.Using your fingers, blend mixture together until a disc is formed
6. Wrap in plastic, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
7. Roll out carefully on a floured surface
8. Add filling in the centre, and fold up sides of the dough to form galette
9. Sprinkle sugar over top. 
10. Bake in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for a further 20 minutes until deep golden brown. 

  

Filling

for one small galette

1 ½ cups blueberries or 2 peaches, peeled and sliced

1 tbsp. lemon juice

4 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. cornstarch

   Gently toss ingredients together in a bowl. Fill galette.

Sweet and Savoury Pie Class: Peach Pie with Flaky Butter Pastry

Our second attempt at pastry-making of the evening was a flaky butter crust.   I learned a few tips and techniques:

- Try grating butter instead of dicing or using a pastry cutter
- Refrigerate the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt)
- Keep ice cubes in a glass of water to keep it absolutely chilled
- Stainless steel counter tops are amazing
- Rolling tips:  Roll out and back, turn, roll out and back, turn and so on to avoid your dough sticking to the surface
- When ready to move your rolled out pastry into the pan, roll the pastry up onto the rolling pin, then roll it out onto the pie plate

I wasn't pleased with this dough when it went into the fridge to rest.  I was trying to follow the instructors directions, which were different then what I would normally do when making pastry.  But what is the point of taking a class if not to learn something new?  My pastry dough was dry and crumbly when I finally got it into a sort of disc-like shape.  Not enough water, I think.  Anyways, the instructor came over and said it was over-worked and to leave it.  Oh well.  Once it had chilled in the fridge,  I was careful to not use too much flour in the process of rolling it out.  To my great surprise, this was the flakiest pastry I have ever made - you could see the layers as you cut into it - and it was delicious as well.  A winner.  I must have done something right, after all.

Pastry (Flaky) (used for Peach Pie)

Recipe from The Culinary Studio

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

1 cup cold, unsalted butter

¼ to ½ cup ice water

In a bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar.
Using a box grater, grate butter into the flour mixture
Toss together lightly, using your fingers
Add water, first ¼ cup, and then more, few tablespoons at a time, lightly kneading until the dough comes together
On a lightly floured surface, divide dough in half and shape into disks
Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour

Peach Filling

Recipe from The Culinary Studio

6 cups of sliced peaches

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

Juice and zest of one lemon

¼ tsp of cinnamon

Toss all of the ingredients together and fill a 9” unbaked pie crust. Cover with top crust. Egg wash and create steam holes.

Bake in a 425°F oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350°F for a further 30-40 minutes until the crust is a deep golden brown. Let stand for at least 30 minutes before cutting.

Sweet and Savoury Pie Class...the savoury: Tourtière

Last week I attended a pie-making class at a local place called the Culinary Studio.

A hands-on class, we learned to make three types of pastry - one with lard, another with butter, and a pâte sucrée as the third. 

First up - a savoury meat tart, or une tourtière.

Une tourtière is a traditional French Canadian dish, usually made with minced or ground pork, veal, or beef. It is often served on Christmas Eve, which is a tradition in my own family, something I always look forward to. This recipe includes a home-made tomato chutney type sauce - try mango or peach chutney or apple sauce as an accompaniment.

I have never used lard before - but it functions virtually identically to vegetable shortening.  I have also never added this much fat in order to create anything before....and I asked, just to be sure "So, we throw in the entire package of lard, then?"....."okaaaay..." Of course, I have also never made such a large amount of pastry before, either.  The pastry recipe makes quite a bit more than you need. I may make some small adjustments when I try it at home, or set the extra aside for a quiche. 

This was absolutely delicious - don't change a thing - I will be making this for the holiday season this year, for sure.

My apologies for the quality of the photo - I was limited to my vintage blackberry as we made and then enjoyed this in class.

Savoury Meat Tart 

Recipe from The Culinary Studio

Filling:
1 lb ground pork
1 medium potato, peeled
1 lg onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried sage (optional)
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup water

1. Boil potato gently, whole, until just cooked.
2. Add all other ingredients to a large frying pan. Using a spoon, or a spatula, break apart any chunks of meat. The key to a good meat tart is the stirring and chopping during cooking so that the meat and vegetables are not lumpy and as fine as possible.
3. This should simmer covered,at least 1/2 an hour but the 'breaking down' process may take 20 minutes or so.
4. Remove bay leaves and grate cooked and cooled potato into the mixture
5. Taste for seasoning
6. Fill raw pastry shell, cover with top shell. Egg wash and create steam holes.
7. Bake pies at 425°F for 20 minutes, and then reduce heat to 350°F for a further 30-40 minutes or until deep golden brown. Let cool at least 20 minutes before serving.


Flaky Lard Crust:
Recipe from The Culinary Studio
(makes enough for 2 large crusts)

4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cups shortening, diced
2 eggs
4 tbsp cold water
2 tbsp vinegar

1. Blend together flour and salt. Quickly work in shortening with your hands.
2. Mix together eggs, water and vinegar. Incorporate into flour until just combined.
3. Turn out onto a floured work surface, divide in half, shape into discs, wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before using.
4. Roll out as required


Homemade Ketchup:

Recipe from The Culinary Studio

1-32oz can of tomatoes, pureed

2 medium onion, small dice

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup soft brown sugar

½ cup white wine vinegar

2 tsp dry mustard

1. Saute onion in a small amount to oil until golden brown. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes longer.
2. Add tomatoes, sugar, vinegar and mustard. Simmer until thick. Season with salt. Cool and place in glass jar. Keep refrigerated.