Peach Galette

It’s peach time in the mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental of western Mexico. Small cling peaches — duraznos — are making their appearance at roadside stands in Mascota, a treat we look forward to every summer. Juicy and flavorful, we mostly eat them out of hand, but they also are wonderful in quesadillas, popsycles and galettes.

I’m having a hard time with desserts in Mexico lately. Often they are super sweet, which is not agreeing with my move toward consuming less sugar. The trinity of classic Mexican desserts — flan, rice pudding and pastel de tres leches — are all overly sweet, but that’s just my opinion. It’s easier to get away with using less sugar in a fruit dessert. The fruit lends its own sweetness, without the need of excess sugar.

Galettes are more forgiving than pie crusts. Pressed out either by hand or a rolling pin, their rustic, free-form shape leaves no doubt they are homemade, a good thing these days when many of us have abundant time to spend in the kitchen and want to admire our efforts. And show off on Instagram how we are spending our time at home!

Peach Galette

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups (180 g) whole wheat flour or all purpose flour

• 1/3 cup (70 g) cold, solid coconut oil or butter

• 1/3 – 1/2 cup (80 ml – 120 ml) ice water

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling

• 4 cups (1 liter) sliced peaches

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 tablespoon cream, milk or almond milk and 2 teaspoon coarse sugar for pastry wash

• 1 tablespoon agave syrup, or strained, warmed apricot jam to glaze peaches

1. Mix flour and salt.

2. Cut cold coconut oil or butter into chunks, and blend into flour with a pastry cutter or in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

3. Add 1/3 cup ice water, until mixture comes loosely together. Form into ball by hand. Add more water if it seems too dry to form a ball.

4. Flatten into disc about 5″ (12 cm) across, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate while preparing filling.

5. For filling, mix cornstarch with sugar, then combine with peach slices and almond extract.

6. Pre-heat oven to 400 F (200 C)

7. On a floured surface, roll out pastry into a circle about 12″ (30 cm) across. Ragged edges are OK, in fact, they are preferable.

8. Spoon peach slices into center of pastry, leaving a 2″ (5 cm) edge clear of fruit.

9. Working in a circular motion, fold pastry edge over fruit.

10. Brush folded pastry edge with almond milk, and sprinkle with coarse sugar. I use the unrefined, light brown sugar common in Mexico, azúcar estándar.

11. Bake on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper 25 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is starting to color slightly and peaches test tender with a paring knife.

12. While still warm, brush peach slices with agave syrup or apricot jam.

13. Cool. Serve with whipped cream, ice cream, or plain yogurt.

Notes ~

~ Azúcar estándar is the common sugar in Mexico. Made from sugar cane, it is coarse and light brown, and slightly unrefined. Years ago, we were puzzled to find it in the produce section of grocery stores, probably located there because of its plant origin.

~ Whole wheat flour is common in Mexico, and my favorite brand is Espuma de Chapala. Its high protein content makes it a good choice for bread baking. If you find whole wheat flour bitter, it is not fresh, the oil in the germ having turned rancid. Toss it out.

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