sour cherry galette

Sour cherries are an elusive fruit. They grow only in a few areas in the country, are impossible to find in a grocery store (fresh, at least), and even at a farmer’s market one would be lucky to find them more than one or two weeks out of the year.

If you do happen to find them, though – buy them. A lot of them. Don’t tell your friends. Don’t tell your family. Don’t even tell your neighbor’s dog. Keep them all for yourself and make this galette.

Galette is just a French word for “we’re too lazy to make two crusts and call it a pie.” It all comes together in about an hour, which is only a little bit longer than it will take you to devour this entire tart.

Sweet-tart cherries, flaky, buttery pastry – it’s a match made in heaven. Add a bit of vanilla ice cream on the side if you’re so inclined.

I prefer to eat mine directly out of hand, eyes closed in bliss, pastry crumbs dropping all around me. It’s the only civilized way.

Sour Cherry Galette

1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, chilled, cut into cubes

¼ cup cold water

1 quart (about 4 cups) sour cherries, pitted

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

Preheat the oven to 400⁰F

Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together. Work the cold butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender, fork, or your fingers, until like small crumbs. Add the ice water and mix until it becomes a soft dough, adding more cold water if needed. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss the pitted cherries in the sugar and cornstarch, let sit for at least 15 minutes. Roll out the pastry dough until about 1/8^th inch thick. Mound the cherries in the center, leaving at least a two inch border. Wrap the pastry edges around the cherries, pleating the dough where needed. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and cherries are cooked through. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.

 

Charoset

Unlike the majority of our gentile celebratory foods, which gain a spot on our tables simply for being delicious, Jewish cuisine is notorious for the symbolism of each item present.

Matzo and only other unleavened breads because the when the Jews left Egypt they didn’t have enough time for leavened (chametz) bread to rise and/or because it was easy to carry with them on their journey back to Israel.

Bitter greens to symbolize the embittered life of enslaved Jews in Egypt and salted water to represent the tears of the people.

There are many other symbolic dishes that represent various struggles and tribulations in Jewish history, but I admit the most appealing (speaking only of taste) is charoset.

Charoset is said to represent the mortar the Israelites used while bonding bricks in Egypt. There are two different kinds: Sephardi, which is cooked and usually paste-like to more closely resemble the mortar of ancient times, and Ashkenazi, which is more rustic and always contains nuts, apples, cinnamon and sweet wine – ingredients King Solomon used to describe the children of Israel.

I like the Ashkenazi version because, well, I’m not Jewish and I can pick on taste alone. I’d like to try making it with pistachios instead of the traditional walnuts, but I’m not sure if I get in trouble for messing with the recipe too much.

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key lime tart

It’s not very often that I bat an eye at the dessert menu anymore. I’ve been burned once too often by the lure of a citrus dessert.

Usually in the form of a bar or mini-tart these imposters lurk at buffets, dessert tables and on menus throughout the country. They promise the delicious complexity of the bite of citrus with a pleasing sweetness to counter the acidity. Sweet and sour. Yin and Yang.

With an unfortunate consistency these hopes are dashed at the first bite. Met with a tooth-aching amount of sweetness those once-enticing bites have been beaten with the sugar cane so severely that any hint of complexity has been annihilated.

When I do chance upon a citrus dessert that has achieved that tangy-sweet nirvana I come embarrassingly close to licking the plate. Some people I know can bear witness to just such an event at a small restaurant in North Carolina last year. I remain unashamed.

This tart swings just a little bit farther in the opposite direction. It’s more tangy than sweet and for those of you who appreciate that delicacy called the “Sour Patch Kid,” it is here that you will find a friend.

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passion fruit semifreddo

You know what I love the most about passion fruit? When the produce boy sells them to you at a steep discount because "they're all wrinkly, they must be old."

It's a beautiful thing - especially considering that last time I saw passion fruit at Whole Foods they were $2 each. Ouch.

For those of you unfamiliar with this tasty, tropical fruit, wrinkly skin is a good sign. It indicates that the fruit is ripe and sweet. A passion fruit with shiny, smooth skin is unripe. So the next time you see a store trying to get rid of their old, wrinkly passion fruits - snatch them up, my friend. Them's some good eats.

Semifreddos are an Italian dessert kind of like a frozen mousse. Instead of using the traditional churning method of most frozen desserts, the flavorful base is folded into pillowy whipped cream and frozen, usually in a mold. It's then turned out and sliced, sometimes served with a sauce.

Succinctly, they're rich, creamy, delicious, and so easy a trained monkey could make one. So make one, impress your friends, and add an inch or two to your waistline.

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cherry almond clafoutis

I remember as a little girl the cherry tree that hung over the fence in my paternal grandparents backyard. It was the neighbor's tree, but they weren't necessarily the best at keeping it pruned. It draped partially over the garage roof and sometimes hung just low enough over the fence for us to snatch a few as we were playing.

I can't remember what type of cherry they were, but I have a vague recollection of picking them and being very happy to do so. Proud of my dark stained fingers.

I still enjoy cherries, but usually have little of the patience required to pit them. They are indeed delicious though, and their siren call is hard to ignore when they appear at the market each season.

Although I prefer cherries best eaten out of hand, this is a perfect recipe for those moments when you realize you have just too many on hand to eat raw. It's not too sweet, which I enjoy. It goes deliciously with vanilla ice cream.

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