Apricot Galette

I love this point of the summer. The days are hot and the farmer's market is overflowing with amazing goodies. Apricots being of of my favourites. I love their sweet flavour and soft texture. Even better that they go well in something sweet and stand up really well alongside chicken grilled on the BBQ. 

Galettes are one of my favourite things to make right now because they really are minimal effort for something that looks so pretty. Think of them as a deconstructed pie. No rolling to make a perfect circle for the pie tin and no top crust.....because why would you want to hide the beautiful fruit? If you have a good crust (which I think I've got the full proof one for even the toughest skeptics out there) and fresh fruit, add a handful of brown sugar and you're golden. Feel free to substitute any fruit you find at the market; peaches, plums, blackberries, or strawberries.

Apricot Galette

Crust:

• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 4 tbsp cold unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp sour cream

Filling

• 15-20 small apricots, halved
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsps brown sugar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add the butter and cut it into the flour with a pastry cutter, fork or pinching with your fingers until it resembles a very coarse meal. Chill the dough for 15 minutes.

Add the sour cream and blend it in with the pastry cutter or fork. Knead and squeeze the dough 7 to 8 times to incorporate any loose bits. Gather the dough together into a rough ball, flatten it to a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. 

Meanwhile mix the apricots, lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch in a bowl. Let sit until the sugar and cornstarch dissolve. About as much time as it'll take you to roll the dough.

Remove the dough from the fridge and roll into approximately an 8 inch round. It doesn't have to be perfect. Rustic is what you're going for here. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Starting at the centre, arrange the apricots cut side down in a circle. You should end up with about 6 inches of dough on the outside. Take one part of the crust and fold the edge over to cover a little bit of the fruit. Continue around the edges, overlapping as needed. Sprinkle the crust with a little extra brown sugar. 

Bake at 400* on the bottom rack of your oven for approximately 30-35 minutes or until crust is browned and fruit is bubbling. 

Let stand for 15-20 before serving. 

Serves 8.