the last of the blueberries

Just a week later, and all seven pounds of blueberries are gone.  I made blueberry oatmeal squares, blueberry smoothies, blueberry maple parfaits, blueberry freezer jam, and ate handfuls of blueberries straight from the bucket.  However, the last three cups of berries went into the best recipe yet - a beautiful blueberry galette.

I'm a little obsessed with galettes.  They're like free-form pies and I love their rustic look.  Confession:  I often don't make my own pie crusts - the rolling out, the tearing, it is all too frustrating to me.  But the galette filling recipe is so easy, that a recipe that called for a homemade crust was a requirement this time around.  Not only did this crust make the dessert (the addition of cornmeal is fantastic), but it came together in a snap in the food processor.  I may be revisiting my feelings about homemade pie crusts from now on because it was totally worth it.  The other great thing about galettes is that they are not supposed to look perfect - so a cracked and uneven crust is part of its charm!

Blueberry Galette

Slightly adapted from I Shot the Chef

For the crust:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick of butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 2-3 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

• 3 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, chilled

To assemble:

• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse briefly to blend.  Cut the butter into pieces, add to the flour mixture, and pulse until the butter is cut into very tiny pieces, about 30 seconds.  The texture should be sandy with very tiny lumps throughout.

While the food processor is running, pour the cream and 2 tablespoons of ice water through the feed tube. Process until the dough begins to hold together.  Turn off the food processor, remove the top, and feel the dough - if it holds together it is done.  If it is still crumbly, add the remaining tablespoon water and pulse again.

Turn the pastry dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap.  Shape into a flat disk and wrap tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator 2 hours, or until firm.  When ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit 10-12 minutes to become pliable.

Place the berries and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in a mixing bowl and toss together to distribute evenly. Taste the berries to see if they need any more sugar.

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.  Roll out the pastry dough between sheets of lightly parchment paper to a large circle about 12 inches in diameter.  Carefully, peel the parchment paper off the top of the dough, brush excess flour off the dough, and transfer the pastry dough with the bottom piece of parchment paper onto a baking sheet.

Mound the berries into a pile in the center of the dough circle, leaving a 2 1/2-inch border all around.  Cut the remaining butter into small pieces and distribute over the berries.

Fold the border up so that it partially covers the berries.  Brush the dough with the cream.  (Be careful that it doesn't run under the galette - if it does, wipe it up because it can cause the bottom of the galette to burn.) Evenly sprinkle the sugar over the dough border.

Bake the galette at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until light golden. (If desired, dust with powdered sugar before serving.)

Note: The only problem I did have was that it is impossible to move the baked galette from the baking sheet to a serving platter and attempting to do so would result in a catastrophe of epic proportions.  I was able to make the transfer by leaving the parchment paper under the galette and then tearing off the exposed parts of the paper from around the pie once it was on the serving platter.