Plum and Grape Galette

This is going to be a post that depends on a little bit of trust. Not because I’m asking you to enjoy weird foods or unusual flavor combinations. Not because I didn’t make or eat this delicious rustic pie made with tiny locally-grown plums and itsy-bitsy locally-grown grapes, myself. Not because I goofed it up but I’m going to confidently tell you how you should do it right. Well, maybe it is a little of that last one.

You see, this Plum and Grape Galette should be pretty much the same as this Berry and Rhubarb Galette, in theory and practice, anyway. I somehow failed to use that berry-rhubarb recipe as a template, however, and baked my plum-grape creation at too low a temperature. The result was delicious, since the fruit itself was the star, but it far too long to bake, and the crust never got as crisp and golden as I wanted.

Unfortunately, those wonderfully dark and sweet little home-grown plums and the lip-smacking, super fruity, candy-like local grapes (the cashier said they’re like kid wine) have a very limited season. I couldn’t get any more to try out the recipe again with a better baking procedure. I didn’t want to let it go until next year, though, since this sweet and tart late season combination was just so good.

I think you could make this simple pie with whatever other plums and grapes you can get. Since my grapes were so small, they went into my galette whole. Larger grapes can be cut in half. Also, you’ll want to add sugar to your fruit to taste. Mine was pretty sweet and we don’t mind our fruit a bit tart, so I put just a little sugar in.

 

I added sliced almonds to the bottom of the galette in hopes of buying some insurance against a soggy crust. While I can’t say my crust ever got crispy enough to definitively test this concept, I liked the almonds where they were since they added some welcome crunch and a good flavor.

And so, in the recipe below, I’m giving you some theoretically sound but untested baking instructions, not the ones I used. They’re based on the Berry and Rhubarb Galette in temperature and approximate time. You’ll just have to keep a close eye on your pie, making sure it doesn’t burn. It’ll all work out in the end. Trust me.

Plum and Grape Galette with Almonds

Use your favorite pie crust recipe (such as Easy Cream Cheese Pastry, Basic Pie Crust, or Whole Wheat Pastry) or a store-bought crust to save time (like I did).

The baking instructions in this recipe are adjusted to what I think will work better than what I did when I made the pie in the photos above. Keep an eye on the pie in the oven to avoid overbaking it.

Serve this warm or at room temperature with ice cream or whipped cream. Alas, I had neither on hand.

2 cups pitted plums, halved if small, quartered or coarsely chopped if larger

1 cup seedless grapes

¼ cup sugar or to taste

1 tablespoon cornstarch

½ cup sliced almonds

Pastry for a single crust pie (See heading above)

Egg wash (egg beaten with a small amount of water or milk)

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment, foil, or a silicone baking mat. Lay the rolled-out crust in the middle of the prepared baking sheet.

2. In a large bowl, combine the plums, grapes, sugar and cornstarch. Toss well to combine.

3. Sprinkle the almonds over the bottom of the crust dough leaving a 2-inch border around the whole circle. Pour the plum mixture over the almonds, leaving the same border. Even out the fruit mixture, then fold up the edges of the crust over the fruit. Brush the crust with the egg wash.

4. Bake at 425 F until the fruit is tender and bubbly and the crust is golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool on the pan on a wire rack. Carefully transfer the galette to a cutting surface to serve.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Other recipes like this one: Berry and Rhubarb Galette, Cherry Plum Crisp, Apricot and Raspberry Tart with Crumble Topping

One year ago: Split Pea and Vegetable Curry

Fruit Juice "Jell-O"

I was saving a bottle of organic Concord grape juice to make some grape jelly (from a simple recipe I’ll have to tell you about some time.) Ever since I bought it, however, cooking and processing jelly have seemed like just too much trouble. Fortunately, I came across the idea in a magazine to make a gelatin dessert with fruit juice. That, of course, is much easier.

In fact, this really is just about as easy as opening and mixing up a box of Jell-O brand dessert. One simply blooms some unflavored gelatin in a bit of the juice, then boils the rest of the juice, stirs it in and waits until it firms up enough to eat. Ta-da! I don’t know why I didn’t know this was so easy.

I had some really good red seedless grapes and decided they were destined to go into the Jell-o, too. I cut each one in half and arranged them in the bottom of a shallow dish so each slurpy spoonful of gelled juice was studded with nice, crisp, sweet-tart grapes. The end result was perhaps more attuned to adult tastes (although not so much as some other Jell-O treatments out there), being less sugary than packaged gelatin desserts. This kind of thing would also be great, however, for parents who would like to control their kids’ sugar intake…like, um, probably every parent. This might not be as cheap as a box of Jell-O, but, seriously, the recipe won’t take much more of your time.

I think you could use just about any juice to make this. Just taste the juice, and if it’s too tart, you could add a bit of sugar. The Concord grape juice was fabulous on its own, and I think cherry juice with cherries would be great, too. Apple cider would be heavenly, especially that wonderful fresh-pressed cider we get around here in the early fall. But, silly me! I can’t be thinking about the fall yet. There’s too much summer yet to come and this refreshing and easy fruit juice gelatin really rides the summer heat waves like a champ.

Concord Grape Juice Gelatin with Red Grapes

Based on a recipe in Martha Stewart Living magazine

You could use any fruit juice and fruit with this method.

4 cups 100% Concord grape juice, divided

2 (¼ -ounce) envelopes unflavored gelatin
2 cups halved seedless red grapes

1. Pour 1 cup of the grape juice in a large bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over it and let stand until the gelatin has absorbed the juice to form a thick gel. This is known as “blooming” the gelatin.

2. Arrange the grapes in the bottom of a shallow 2-quart dish.

3. Bring the remaining 3 cups juice to a boil in a medium-size saucepan.  Pour over the bloomed gelatin mixture and stir to dissolve the gelatin. Pour over the grapes in the dish. Cool, then cover and chill until firm.

Makes about 8 servings

One year ago: Lime Bars with Graham Cracker Crust, Tacos with Sauteed Greens and Fresh Cheese