Blackberry Galette with Cornmeal Crust

I'm sorry, dear readers for the unannounced hiatus, but I'm happy to report that I have returned! And with a great recipe to share! It's been over a month since I was last here and I've got some good excuses. First, there was a pretty serious family emergency. Everything is fine now, but things were a bit shaky for some weeks. Then, we had our first real family vacation! We just got back from Hawaii a few days ago. We three are tanned and relaxed and ready for a return trip.

I'd been checking on the wild blackberries before we left and I knew they'd be in full fruit when we returned, so it was nice to have that to look forward to at the end of our Hawaii trip.  Jack and I went out hunting this morning, and look what we found...

One teensy little bush yielded 6 cups of juicy blackberries! I've been long wanting to make a galette, and I thought that cornmeal and blackberries would be a great match. I found this recipe in Cooking Light and tweaked it a bit. This stuff really calls for some vanilla ice cream, or at least a healthy dollop of whipped cream. Alas, we were out of both, but it was still definitely worth eating on its own. Maybe I'll have it for breakfast tomorrow...

Blackberry Galette with Cornmeal Crust

The rich, buttery pastry dough is easy and forgiving. I rolled it out between two pieces of parchment to prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin, and it also helped for transfer and cleanup.

 
Yield: 10 servings (or 8 big ones!)

 

Pastry:

• 1 3/4  cups  all-purpose flour (about 7 3/4 ounces)
• 1/3  cup  granulated sugar
• 1/4  cup  cornmeal
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  cup  cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3  cup  fat-free buttermilk (or pour 1 t. white distilled vinegar into measuring cup first, then fill up with milk and let sit for 10 minutes before using)
   

Filling:

• 6  cups  blackberries (or mixture of berries)
• 1/3 cup  granulated sugar
• 3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
• 2  tablespoons  lemon juice
• 1  large egg
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  turbinado sugar (honestly, I just nab an extra packet of raw sugar at the coffee shop here and there for dusting the tops of my pastries)

1. Using the spoon and level method to measure flour, combine flour, sugar, cornmeal and salt. Cut in butter (I use my handy dandy pastry cutter) until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Add buttermilk and gently mix just until dough forms a ball. Gently press dough into a 4-inch circle on plastic wrap; cover. Chill 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350° and place oven rack on the lowest level. I find this helps my pies cook really well in the center and I don't end up with a pale, soggy center.
3. Unwrap and place dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll dough into a 15-inch circle. Place dough and bottom piece of parchment on a baking sheet.
4. To prepare filling, combine berries, flour, sugar and lemon in a medium bowl; toss gently to coat. Arrange berry mixture in center of dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold edges of dough toward center, pressing gently to seal (dough will only partially cover berry mixture).
5. Whisk egg and brush onto dough. Sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over dough. Bake at 375° for 1 hour or until pastry is golden brown. Let stand 30 minutes; cut into wedges.

Mmmmm. Tastes like summer!