Nectarine Galette

If you love pies and flaky crusts but haven't had much success previously with them, this is the recipe for you. It is the easiest recipe I have encounter that falls into the tart/pie catagory. On second thought, if you aren't allergic to nectarines or almonds, this is probably the recipe for you.

The crust is basically a pie crust.  But by cooking it flat and shaping it by hand, it is much more forgiving. Your pie crust needn't be perfect to be delicious.  Mine was far to moist and kept falling apart.  I never would have gotten it into a pie pan, but with creative use of saran wrap I had no problem getting it on the baking sheet and shaping it.

The topping is also super easy.  I just mixed everything together and sprinkled half of it on top of the crust and half of it on top of the nectarines.  The original recipe keeps out a 1/4 cup of sugar to sprinkle on top and everything else goes directly on the crust.  I'm sure it is delicious either way.  The crushed up amaretti cookies are really delicious.  To the point where I definitely need to make amaretti cookies for their own sake.

One of the things I really like is how it shows off the beautiful fruit, unlike in a pie where the fruit is often covered by another crust.  Plus this makes it that much easier.  Of course, the final ingredient is ice cream, exactly what you need to celebrate summer!

Nectarine Galette

CRUST
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick or 3 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2–inch pieces
FILLING
1 tablespoon ground almonds
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon amaretti, pulverized — or — 1 extra tablespoon ground almonds plus an extra teaspoon sugar
10 ounces galette dough, rolled into a 14-inch circle and chilled
1 and 1/2 pounds ripe nectarines (about 4 large)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

1. Crust: Combine 1 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt.
2. Cut in butter (preferably with a pastry blender).
3. Dribble four tablespoons of ice water over the dough and stir. Gather dough together and knead gently.
4. Flatten dough into a disc and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the disk into a 14-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate at least 1/2 hour before using.
6. Galette: Mix together ground almonds, flour, sugar, and amaretti.
7. Remove prerolled dough from the refrigerator and sprinkle about half the almond mixture evenly over the pastry. Leave a 1 1/2 to 2 inch border.
8. Cut nectarines into sixths (cut in half, remove pit and cut each half into thirds).
9. Arrange nectarines in a snug single layer on the crust, skin side down.leave the border bare. Sprinkle remaining almond mixture over the top.
10. Rotating the tart, move around folding the clear border back onto itself, crimping as you go. Push it right up against the fruit without any breaks for juice to leak out of.
11. Brush the border with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
12. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven (can use a pizza stone) until crust is brown and its edges are slightly caramelized.
13. Let cool for 20 minutes.

From Smitten Kitchen

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