Blueberry Galette

After a long wait, blueberry season is finally here! The three of us are totally smitten with these little purple gems – most frequently, we simply enjoy them in their natural state with our morning muesli. Like all berries though, they are extremely versatile and perform equally well in fancy desserts or in rustic tarts or jams.

Persuading people to eat blueberries shouldn’t take too much hard work. If you’re like us though and need some scientific evidence to justify your passion for your blueberries addiction, you will be pleased to find out that an ever growing body of research shows that they are high in antioxidants, vitamins and other beneficial nutrients.

At the Gasworks Farmers’ Market last weekend, the folks at Moondarra Blueberries had an abundance of these little beauties on offer and, yes you guessed it, Mummy got a little carried away and we ended up with much more than our breakfast appetite could accommodate.

This time, we opted for a rustic galette, which is very easy to make and doesn’t require too many ingredients, so it was the perfect dessert vehicle for the freshness and flavour of the blueberries. Most of us are probably familiar with the term, as nowadays they seem to be common in most bakeries. It was rather interesting though to see that the world wide web holds little information regarding the true origins of this dish, let alone the original recipe. All we have been able to find so far is that “Galette” is a French term that refers to a freeform rustic tart, which can be either sweet or savoury, depending on the filling. According to this article, galettes are traditionally served at Epiphany, on the 6th of January. To add to the mystery, galette can also refer to a buckwheat crepe with various fillings….

Following our recent experiment with the savoury spelt pastry, we wanted to see if a similar recipe would work in a sweet recipe and were pleased with the result. Apart from the nutritional benefits of spelt flour, we find it very easy to work with in shortcrust pastry, as it makes it very easy to roll without breaking. It also has a very pleasant flavour which is very complimentary to either sweet or savoury fillings, though it might take a little while to get used to it if your taste buds were previously attuned only to white flour pastry.

Blueberry Galette

Pastry (you can make this one day in advance):

280 g white or wholemeal spelt flour

5 tbsp coconut oil (preferably organic, expeller pressed)

2 tbsp raw sugar 1 raw egg yolk, + 1 more egg, lightly beaten, for brushing

4 – 6 tbsp icy cold water

Place a small bowl of water in the freezer for a few minutes. As moisture content can vary greatly in different batches of spelt flour, it’s best to ensure you have sufficient cold water available when you’re making the pastry.

In the mean time, sift flour then place in a food processor together with the coconut oil, sugar and egg yolk. Pulse briefly for a few moments, until the mixture starts to resemble breadcrumbs. With the food processor still running, start adding the cold water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a ball.

Tip onto a lightly floured surface, then shape the pastry into a flat disc. Cover tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 ½ hours.

Blueberry Filling :

400g blueberries, rinsed

2 – 3 tbsp raw sugar

1 ½ tbsp cornflour

Grated zest and juice of one lemon

½ tsp cinnamon

20g cold butter, diced

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix lightly to ensure the blueberries are coated.

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

To assemble the galette, place the pastry between two sheets of lightly floured baking paper, then roll into a 5cm thick disc.

Remove the top layer of baking paper, spoon the blueberry mixture in the centre of the pastry, allowing for a 4 – 5 cm edge. Dot the blueberry mixture with the diced butter.

Lift the pastry edges and fold them towards the centre, pleating the pastry as you go. When finished, lift the galette, together with the sheet of baking paper underneath and place it on a large baking sheet.

Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle with a little raw sugar.

Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for about 25 – 30 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the blueberry filling has started bubbling.

Remove from the oven, then let it rest for a few minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature, best accompanied by some whipped cream or vanilla icecream.

This was a huge success with both Daddy and Jerry, and it all disappeared before Mummy got a chance to take photos of either of them enjoying it.