plum galette

Little remains of the summer market. It is barely September and the rows of pale green peet boxes filled with tomatoes and berries and the bounty of summer have been pushed aside to make way for big crates and boxes full of big and small fall-colored, narly looking squash and assorted fall flavors. I have yet to taste a blackberry this summer, which is yes, a sin, or a crime deserving of some sort of capital punishment, but I thought I had more time.

I’m not ready for the sweaters, the non-flip flop shoes or the crimson and gold changing leaves because it only taunts me and pretends to be beautiful when it’s really about to hurl me into the longest, dreariest, dragging of days on end with coldness that stays forever and winds that cut at my face like razor blades and, and I’m not ready.

In an effort to hold on just a little longer I pushed past the bright orange pumpkins and looked over the bags of sweet potatoes to see a few small, tiny, off to the side, pleading to not be forgotten bit of plums. I snatched them up and decided that if summer was in fact going to leave me, for what seems like forever, then I am going to give one heck of a finale. I grabbed my butter and made some dough and wrapped it gently around the plums and baked it. And then, then I was really reluctant to let summer go. It’s not too sweet. It’s not too heavy. It doesn’t taste like fall – too much. It’s what I have to hold onto until next summer comes and I can buy those blackberries I shamefully forgot.

Plum Galette
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Serves 8

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup ice water
1/4 cup almonds, toasted
6 to 7 plums, halved, pitted and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream

In a large bowl combine 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon sugar and salt. Mix together then add butter. Using a pastry cutter cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup ice water. Mix into the flour mixture until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeeze. If necessary, add 1 tablespoon of ice water at a time until you reach the right consistency. Shape dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor add toasted almonds, 5 tablespoons sugar, and 2 tablespoons flour; pulse until ground unto a coarse meal.

Preheat oven to 350°F. On a floured surface roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. (Meg note: I can’t tell you how important this step is. I forgot to do this and assembled my galette and then battled it trying to move it from the counter to the parchment lined baking sheet trying to keep it intact.) Sprinkle dough with almond mixture. Fan plums out onto dough, leaving a 2 inch border. Fold edge of dough over fruit. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Brush crust with cream; sprinkle galette with sugar. Bake until crust is golden and underside is cooked through, about 70 minutes.