Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe

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Puff pastry has always been on my list of things too intimidating to try in the kitchen. Even though I think it is magnificent with all things savory and sweet, I have never felt enough bravado to use it at home, until now. I purchased some brilliant, local peaches and instinctively knew that I wanted to make a galette. A galette is most frequently a free form pie that has been hand formed from flaky and dense pie dough. The finished product looks like a pie that has been crafted in the French countryside by a 95 year old woman with inherent galette making ability. They are beautiful and perfect in their simplicity.

In order to get a  mental picture of what I was about to create I looked up “peach galette” online. One of the entries that popped up was not made with dough at all, it was crafted with puff pastry.  That was it, exactly how I wanted to use these plump peaches. The puff pastry galette shows off the peaches as the blue ribbon winner. Because layers upon layers of light and flaky pastry are so amazingly delicious on their own, I guess it doesn’t feel like it needs to be center stage. The pastry allowed the fruit to be in the spotlight which I thought added to the look of the galette.

The most exciting part of this endeavor was realizing how easy it is to work with puff pastry. You could replicate this recipe and top it with savory ingredients like roasted asparagus and portobello mushrooms or keep it sweet and top it with dark chocolate and raspberries. After it is baked you can easily cut them into bite size pieces for a crowd or keep them in larger shapes and sizes. I loved making this and actually gasped in awe then cheered when they came out of the oven. This is another one of those impressive impact recipes that require very little work. My favorite kind.

You will want to thaw your pastry overnight in the fridge before you begin.

Photo By: S. Duquet

Fresh Peach Galette

Recipe originally from www.JoyofBaking.com and modified by: S. Duquet I have slightly modified the galette recipe but am sharing their method for skinning peaches word for word because it is brilliant.

Ingredients

5 peaches,  skins removed and sliced lengthwise.

1 package of puff pastry ( I bought a one pound box and had left over pastry. If I had a few more peaches I could have made more galettes.)

1/4 C agave syrup

1/4 C vanilla

Powdered sugar for dusting

Make It Happen

Here are the instructions from the JoyofBaking.com  for peeling your peaches. You will not believe how amazing this is. I was astonished and could not help but wonder why this wasn’t common knowledge like don’t eat the rind on an orange. It made peeling a cinch, it would be  a shame to keep this trick a secret.

Naked Peaches

I like to peel the peaches and this is done by dipping the peaches into boiling water for about 30 – 60 seconds, depending on the ripeness of each peach. Then transfer the fruit to a large bowl of ice water (this stops the cooking process). The skins should now slip easily off the peaches. (They do and you will not believe it) Cut the peaches in half, remove the stones, and cut the fruit into slices.

~Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven

~Unfold your (thawed) large square of puff pastry sheets from the packaging and lay them on a lightly floured work surface.

~Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut through all of the sheets at once and cut them into your desired shapes and sizes. I did three rows of three creating 9 galettes. They were quite large. Yum.

~Place  pastries on a parchment lined baking sheet.

~Lay peach slices (or any topping you would like)  on top of pastry.  Cover and refrigerate entire pan for 15 minutes.

~Mix vanilla and agave in a bowl

~After pastries are chilled, brush each one generously with the agave vanilla mixture. This will help them brown beautifully.

~Bake for approx 10 minutes then brush them again with vanilla agave mixture and continue baking  until the peaches are tender and the puff pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.

I dusted ours with powdered sugar before we devoured them. It looked lovely and added a slight sweetness. You may enjoy these warm or at room temp. They are phenomenal both ways. I felt like I was obligated to try both for the good of the recipe.

If you have ever wanted to try working with puff pastry but were paralyzed by the puff, or if you are already puffy pastry savvy, you will enjoy the simplicity of this recipe. It creates an edible stage for your main ingredient and I think that is splendid.

Have a delicious day.

Recipe originally from: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PeachGalette.html#ixzz1VR2XCrF9

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