Blueberry Pecan Galette

Yesterday, when I (Hannah) first set eyes on the cover of the latest Bon Appetit magazine, I knew I had another summer baking adventure ahead of me. Though I made (and sampled) quite a number of fancy treats over the past weekend, I couldn't get past the picture of the gorgeous blueberry pecan galette bursting with fresh summer berries and topped with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. I wanted to save the recipe for the next special occasion, but they say every day is a special occasion, right? That was enough inspiration for me, so I decided I'd make it today.

Lucky for me, we happened to have all the galette ingredients on hand, including some beautiful blueberries at peak ripeness. Overall, the recipe is very simple, and you likely won't even need a trip to the store to whip up this summery dessert! 

The crust is similar to a simple galette crust with the addition of lightly toasted pecans. The toasted pecans give the crust a rich, nutty flavor, and the butter gives it the perfect melt-in-your-mouth texture. While the recipe calls for one cup of white flour, I used half white flour and half whole wheat pastry flour, which really added to the earthy, nutty flavor! The recipe also recommends chilling the dough at least an hour, and while I usually tend to make the dough far in advance, this time I let the dough chill for about 1.5 hours and it still turned out great! After you finish the dough and let it chill for a while, the rest of the recipe is very easy and takes very little time. 

After chilling the dough and coating the blueberries with a mixture of cornstarch, lemon juice, and sugar, you roll out the dough and place the blueberries in a mound in the center. Now is where you create the traditional galette shape by folding the dough over the edges and overlapping slightly over the blueberries.

After about 35-40 minutes, the galette had turned a perfect golden brown color and the blueberries turned a beautiful dark purple. The accidental blueberry "lava" spilling down the sides gave the galette some nice character and really showcases the juicy berries! 

Overall, this recipe is a perfect summer treat that would sure be a hit at your next barbecue, family gathering, or if you're like me, just because! With some vanilla ice cream, it's the perfect way to celebrate summer flavors. 

Blueberry Pecan Galette

Recipe by Bon Appetit

Ingredients

•     1/2 cup pecans
•     1/2 cup all purpose flour
•     1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
•     2 teaspoons sugar, for crust
•     1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
•     1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•     1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
•     12 ounces (about 2 cups) blueberries
•     1 tablespoon cornstarch
•     1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
•     1/4 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
•     2 tablespoons milk

Cooking Directions
 
       For the dough:                  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toast pecans on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until fragrant and slightly darkened, 10-15 minutes; let cool.             
2. Pulse pecans in food processor until consistency of coarse meal. Add flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon and pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pieces remaining.          
3. Transfer to a large bowl; drizzle with 4 tablespoons ice water and mix, adding another tablespoonful of ice water as needed, just until mixture comes together. Gently pat dough into a 6"-diameter disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour.          

For the assembly:             

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Toss blueberries, cornstarch, lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar in a large bowl.           
2. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12" round. Carefully transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Mound blueberries in center of dough, leaving a 2" border. Fold edges over, overlapping slightly. Brush dough with milk and sprinkle with sugar.           
3. Bake galette until crust is dark golden brown and filling is bubbling, 40-45 minutes. Let cool before serving. Serve warm with ice cream (highly suggested).       

         Bon appetite!