Rhubarb... finally!

    
     I am in my element.  I have been spending a good amount of time outdoors preparing and planting my vegetable garden.  Peas, radishes, lettuces, haricot verts and pole beans are well on their way.  I have been cutting asparagus which were made into a cream soup.  Strawberry plants and blueberry bushes are dripping with blossoms.  And as you can see, rhubarb has been baked into a galette.  It's the time of year I absolutely treasure.  It doesn't get any better than this... eating meals from my own garden. 
 

   
     This free-form tart (galette in France, crostata in Italy) included raspberries.  I often combine strawberries with my rhubarb, but very rarely raspberries.  I loved it!

     I believe the most important step in making a galette is brushing egg wash in between the pleats of crust surrounding the edge of the tart.  It works like glue to hold the shape of the galette.  Otherwise, the overlapping pleats will tend to slide apart during baking. 
     Serve the just-baked Rhubarb and Raspberry Galette with whipped cream, as we did the day of baking, or plain, the way we ate it the following morning along with our espresso.

+ recipe by Karen DeMasco | Locana Verde, NYC

CRUST:
• 1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
FILLING:
•  1/4 cup cornstarch
• 4 cups 1/2-inch-thick slices rhubarb
• 1 6-ounch container fresh raspberries
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Turbinado sugar
•  Sweeten whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)

1.  Combine flours, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse once or twice to combine.  Add the chilled cubed butter and pulse until the size of tiny peas.  Whisk together the egg and milk and slowly pour into the flour mixture while pulsing.  When dough just begins to come together, stop and transfer to a sheet of plastic wrap.  Press into a disk and wrap completely.  Place in refrigerator and chill for at least 1 1/2 hours.
2.  For the filling:  Dissolve cornstarch in 3 tablespoons cold water in a small bowl.  Set aside.  Combine the rhubarb, raspberries, and sugar in a heavy saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, using a rubber spatula to gently stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves and juices release, about 4 minutes.  Stir in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil (rhubarb will not be tender and slices should still be intact).  Transfer to a bowl.  Chill until cool.  Forty-five minutes in refrigerator is ideal. 
3.  Preheat oven to 400˚F.  Remove dough from refrigerator.  On a lightly-floured sheet of parchment paper, roll the dough into a 12-inch round.  Brush the round with beaten egg.  Mound the cooled filling onto the center of the crust and gently spread the filling, leaving a 2-inch border.  Gently and carefully fold the unfilled border over the filling, pleating the dough as you go around.  When finished, brush the edge and in between the pleats with the remaining beaten egg.  Slide the parchment and filled crust onto a baking sheet and transfer to the middle rack of oven.
4.  Bake the galette for approximately 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.  You might want to place a sheet of foil below baking sheet to catch any juices that may accumulate.  Cool the galette on baking sheet on a rack.  Cut into wedges and serve with whipped cream or ice cream if desired (but not necessary).

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