In the middle of Summer in Melbourne I baked a French-style pie, Galette
filled with the seasonal blueberry and Lemon Verbena Herbs.
Ingredients.
Pie dough
Unsalted butter: 130g
Wholemeal plain flour: 210g
table salt: 2.5 g
Creme fraiche /sour cream: 60g
Chilled water: 3 tsp
Filling
Fresh blueberry: 300g
Caster sugar: 4tbs
Corn flour: 11/2 tbs
Lemon juice+Lemon zest: 1/2 ea
Salt: pinch
Fresh lemon verbena leaves 5
Dough Glaze
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water
1 heaped teaspoon raw sugar for sprinkling
Recipe Preparation
1. Make dough:
Cut butter into 1cm(1/2in) dice and chill it in the freezer while preparing the rest of your ingredients. Sift the flour, salt together in the bottom of a large bowl then scatter the cubed butter over the flour. Work the butter into the flour with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal and the largest bits of butter are the size of tiny peas. Lightly whisk the Crème fraîche and water together in a small dish and pour into butter-flour mixture. Stir together with a flexible spatula as best as you can, then use your hands to knead the mixture into a rough, craggy ball. Flatten dough into 2cm thick ,cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for 1 hour. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out , into a sheet 4 mm thick about 30cm across. Return it to the fridge for another 30 mins.
2. Assemble galette:
Finely chop lemon verbena leaves. Stir together all of the filling ingredients and spread them in the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold the border over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit. Whisk egg yolk and water together and brush over exposed crust Sprinkle with raw sugar.
3. Bake galette:
Preheat Oven to 180°C (356F). Bake the galette for 15mis and reduce the temperature to 170°C for 15mis or till golden all over. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature. We served it with a dollop of creme fraiche when it's slightly warm.It was delicious!
Happy Baking!