Rhubarb and Blueberry Galette

A rhubarb and blueberry galette made with a flaky cream cheese crust. The rhubarb and blueberry complement each other perfectly, especially with the additions of orange zest and ground amaretti cookies to add further dimensions of flavor.

Every year I go just a little bit rhubarb crazy and every year my husband pulls the pink stalks out of the fridge in incredulous disbelief yelling, “What are THESE?!?!?!”

This year he even had the audacity to ask if they were chard.

CHARD.

I don’t know what we’ve been talking about all these years, but clearly it hasn’t stuck.

I’m still considering dragging him to the farmer’s market and giving him a crash course in vegetable identification (for rhubab technically is a vegetable, did you know that??) but only after I finish my slice of galette because it is just too good to not, okay.

Since Mike barely refuses to admit that rhubarb even exists as a entity in this world, I’m always a little bit unsure of how he’ll react when I make desserts with it. Plus it’s a lotta bit sour and that’s just not really his thing.

BUT THIS GALETTE.

It’s sheer perfection.

A spring must-make.

OF COURSE it’s a recipe from Ottolenghi’s Sweet cookbook, which is currently my holy grail of bake-books. I’ve made a handful of things from it and they’ve all surprised me in how much I adored them.

They’re elegant but so easy to prepare and combine flavors in surprising and unassuming ways.

Typical Ottolenghi-style.

The crust is cream cheese-based, which makes it extra flavorful, extra crispy, and so easy to work with. It’s one of those crusts that literally shatters into a million pieces when you eat it. In a good (albeit messy) way.

On top of the crust first goes a layer of crushed amaretti cookies that add rich almond flavor but also protect from soggy bottoms. (Paul Hollywood would be proud.)

Then comes the fruit filling, which is a mixture of blueberries, rhubarb, and orange zest. Such a winning combo! I used tapioca pearls to thicken it (those little white circles in the picture). Ottolenghi calls for pulsing them into tapioca flavor so they’re less visible but I got lazy. You do you.

Rhubarb and Blueberry Galette

 

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A rhubarb and blueberry galette made with a flaky cream cheese crust. The rhubarb and blueberry complement each other perfectly, especially with the additions of orange zest and ground amaretti cookies to add further dimensions of flavor.

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

For the cream cheese crust

• 8.5 tbsp unsalted butter, cold, cut into ¾-inch cubes
• 1⅓ cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp baking powder
• 3 oz cream cheese
• 2-3 tbsp heavy cream
• 2 tsp cider vinegar

For the base

• 2 oz amaretti cookies
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the filling

• 8 oz rhubarb, trimmed and thinly sliced
• ¾ cup blueberries
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tbsp tapioca pearls
• finely grated zest of 1 orange
• ⅛ tsp salt

For the glaze

• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp water
• 1 tbsp demerara sugar

Instructions

For the cream cheese crust

1. Place the butter cubes on a small plate and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer for an hour. Meanwhile, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in a ziploc bag. Freeze for 30 minutes.
2. Pour the flour mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Process for 30 seconds to combine. Add in the cream cheese and process for an additional 20 seconds, or until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Add in the frozen butter and pulse until crumbs form.
3. Add 2 tbsp of the heavy cream and the vinegar to the food processor. Pulse until the dough starts to form, adding the additional tbsp of heavy cream if necessary. Pour the dough onto a clean work surface and bring together with your hands. Cover with plastic wrap and flatten it into a disk. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
4. When ready to bake heat oven to 400F.

For the base

1. Place the Amaretti cookies in a ziploc bag and roughly crush them. Add the sugar, flour, and cinnamon to the bag. Toss to combine. Set aside.

For the filling

1. Place the rhubarb, blueberries, sugar, tapioca, orange zest, and salt in a large bowl. Toss to combine and set aside.
2. Remove the pastry from the fridge and let sit for 10 minutes. Place it on a large sheet of parchment paper that has been lightly dusted with flour. Roll it out to a 15-inch circle. Transfer, along with the parchment paper, to a large baking sheet. Sprinkle the amaretti mixture over the dough in a 10-inch circle over the middle of the pastry. Spoon the fruit filling on top of the crumbs. Fold in the edges of the pastry up and over the fruit, pleating it as you go.

For the glaze

1. Beat the egg and water together in a small bowl. Brush all over the exposed areas of pastry and sprinkle with sugar.
2. Bake for 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, or until the crust is golden. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Notes

Recipe from Sweet

3.5.3208