Peach Galette

I know, I know. I've been posting a lot of peach dishes lately. But as peach season is coming to a close I'm trying to make up for all the lost time I didn't have this summer when I was working so much. I barely had time to make dinner these past few months, let alone dessert. Now that work is done and classes have begun, I've had a lot more time for the fun stuff. That's not to say that grad school doesn't take up a lot of my time as well, but it certainly affords me more kitchen time. In fact, I'm loving everything about grad school.. classes, assignments, professors, new friends, experiences and opportunities.. just to name a few.

Galettes are the answer to the person who likes pie, without liking pie crust. Does that make sense? I love pie filling. Sweet, warm, tender fruit. What's not to love? But I've never been a fan of the crust. Something about it is just unappealing. When eating a slice of pie I usually scrape off the top and the crispy part on the end, and just eat the filling and the bottom crust. A galette is the answer to my pie dilemma, basically only having the parts of pie that I like, with a little extra around the edges.

This was my first attempt at making a vegan galette. Actually, it was my first time making a galette at all. I found a recipe for a plum galette, made a couple substitutions, and came up with this dessert. It was unbelievably delicious with homemade vegan cantaloupe ice cream that I made with cantaloupes from my garden. It's the same recipe as this one that I made a few months ago, but with cantaloupe puree instead of cherries.

Vegan Peach Galette

Serves 6

• 1 3/4 cups unbleached flour
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cups butter substitute, like Smart Balance
• 3 Tbsp. ice water
• 1 tsp. fresh squeezed orange juice (any citrus juice, like lemon, would work also)

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
• 2 tsp. corn starch
• Dash of salt
• 2 cups of peeled, sliced peaches (about 6 small peaches)

1. Combine the flour, sugar and salt together in a food processor. I imagine an electric mixer would work just as well.
2. Put the bowl with the flour mixture in the freezer for about 15 minutes. The trick to a good crust is to keep the dough cold, or so I'm told.
3. Add the butter sub to the flour and pulse until the dough becomes crumbly.
4. Add in the ice water and juice, and blend until the mixture still looks crumbly, but holds together when you pinch it between your fingers.
5. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a circle a little over a foot in diameter, and about 1/8 of an inch thick. 
6. Wrap this in plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
7. In the meantime, prepare the filling by rubbing the vanilla seeds together with the sugar. 
8. Stir in the cornstarch and salt.
9. Toss the peaches in the sugar mixture.
10. Preheat the oven to 350º.
11. Unwrap the dough from the plastic wrap, and transfer to a foil lined baking sheet.
12. Lay the peaches in a spiral pattern around the center of the dough, leaving about 2 inches around the edges.
13. Fold the edges over the peaches.
14. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the edges just begin to brown.
15. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

Crumble dough, what it should look like after step 3

What the dough should look like after step 4

Rolled out dough

It doesn't have to be perfect

The vanilla and sugar rubbed together. The mixture made a lot,
so I saved some to use in tea.

Folding the edges over, as in step 13

Done!

I'm sure I'll be making this with different fruit
as the seasons change. It would be delicious with
apples I'm sure!