The Easiest Strawberry Galette.
A lovely outdoor activity with the kids during the summer is strawberry picking, we have done this many years now and we always have a lovely time, what’s not to love I mean you get to pick your own fresh produce, tire out the kiddos and the best thing is to get to eat all of that lovely fruit afterwards.
Picking your own it’s actually a really nice thing to do with your little ones, it’s quite special that they get to see where the fruit that they love so much comes from and start to appreciate those things since they are little.
Also I don’t know if it just me but it feels way more special than buying it from the supermarket, maybe is that bit of effort that requires to go to the farm and pick your own produce that makes it taste sweeter, sort of like that feeling that people always talk about when you grow your own too.
So then coming home afterwards and make a quick pie together is the culmination of a lovely day. Now I’m not a baker by nature, even though I learned advanced pastry at culinary school and I admire the skill that goes into amazing pies you see on instagram , but it has never felt natural to me, I think is because I like to cook on instinct more than precision, but galettes I like ! it’s kind of like a lazy pie to me, no need for fancy lattice just let that fruit shine.
I do recommend to make your own pastry if you can (you can also use ready made shortcrust pastry ), but it will give that extra touch to this simple dessert, kind of like putting a little bit more of love in there, a bit of magic perhaps.
So go on to check pick your own farms near your area (and the regulations that you may have to follow during these times) and get ready to spend a lovely day with the family.
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
Pastry.
200 plain flour.
1/4 tsp salt.
2 tbsp icing sugar.
100 grams of cold butter.
1 free range egg.
1 tsp lemon zest.
1-2 tbsp iced water.
Strawberry Filling.
5 cups of strawberries , (washed and sliced).
4 tbsp of caster sugar.
1 tsp of corn starch.
30 grams of soft butter.
Finishing touches.
Egg wash, (1 egg with a bit of milk mixed together).
1 -2 tbsp Caster sugar .
Vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche to serve.
Method.
Preheat oven at 180 C
Begin by making the pastry, in a mixing bowl place the flour, salt, icing sugar and the butter, beat your ingredients until they resemble breadcrumbs.
Add the egg and lemon zest keep beating until it forms a soft dough, add the iced water at the end, then knead briefly over your kitchen counter, cover in cling film and store in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Chilled time : 2 hours.
For the strawberry filling, mix all the ingredients apart from the butter into a bowl and set aside.
Get your pastry out of the fridge, add a bit of flour over your kitchen counter and stretch your pastry with a rolling pin in an oval shape (doesn’t need to be perfect) about 3-5 mm in thickness.
Prepare a baking tray with a floured surface and place your pastry carefully on top.
Get the strawberry filling and spoon it over the center of your pastry, scatter it around leaving about 4-5 cm of clear space in the edge.
Fold the edges of your pastry making sure that there is strawberry filling wrapped underneath those folds.
Brush your edges with the egg-wash, add pieces of the remaining butter over your strawberries and sprinkle the caster sugar all around the pastry edges.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry looks golden and the bottom of your tart is cooked through.
Once is ready take it out of the oven and let it cool down for a few minutes, then cut slices and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche, enjoy!
For anyone living in the Surrey area here is the link for Garsons Farm where I go with my family :