My Very Own Strawberry Rhubarb Galette

Hello!! And happy hump day. I am so excited to share this Strawberry Rhubarb Galette that I’ve been shamelessly drooling over since.. mmm.. forever. It’s a true fact that I was more excited to bake it then to actually eat it. I mean look at it.. we’re dealing with a rustic piece of french art here. Simply Bellissimo. But my desire to indulge became more and more intense as it’s sweet and tangy deliciousness lingered  throughout every room of my house. Intoxicating indeed.

First, I owe a special thanks to Kathy at Food Lover’s Odyssey for sharing the recipe. I totally blog stalk her. Definitely bookmark the site. You’ll feel like you just spent an afternoon in France or Italy every time you visit it. Since I dooo adore travel, and cooking italiano, it’s naturally my favorite (virtual) happy place.

So I googled “galette”, and according to the ever-truthful Wikipedia, it’s a french-style pie or pastry with a free-hand crust. Yep, that’s definitely what we’ve got on our hands here, and it was so fun to make!!

Crust:

• 2 c flour
• 5 T sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 c cold butter, cubed
• 1/3 c ice cold water
• 1/4 c slivered almonds
• 1/2 c ginger snap cookies

Filling:

• 2 1/2 c rhubarb, chopped
• 2 1/2 c strawberries, hulled and halved
• 1 T cornstarch
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 1 c sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

1) Mix dry ingredients and cut in cold butter. Add water 1 T at a time and mix just until it rolls into a ball. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. 2) Mix together all filling ingredients, only leaving strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar separate. Cool in refrigerator until baking time. 3) Crush ginger snap cookies and mix with almond slivers. 4) Remove dough from the fridge and roll out on floured surface. You want it roughly 12″, 1/4″ thick. 5) Lay crust on baking dish lined with wax paper and refrigerate for another 30 minutes. 6) Line base of the crust with almond and cookie mix, keeping 2″ from the edge. Spoon in mixed strawberry and rhubarb filling, reserving as much liquid as possible for later use 7) Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. 8 ) Reserved liquid can be heated on the stovetop for thickening and drizzled over galette as a luscious syrup.

Me getting a bit silly in the kitchen with Bethy as my food photographer..

Not that I need an excuse to bake, but both my younger brothers are in town and staying with my the next couple nights. I get really excited about cooking for my family. Nothing says “I love you” like baked goods and mom’s comfort foods. (If you recall, my brother requested tuna casserole when I cooked Thanksgiving dinner last year… I was appalled. I had already made a mouth-watering prime rib, but I guess you can have the finest spread and still nothing tastes as good as food out of mom’s kitchen). If I ever host Thanksgiving again I know now, tuna casserole and apple pie. Easy to please.

Which of mom’s specialties do you find yourself craving?