It’s that time of year here in Portland where our yard becomes a (humble) bounty of berries. When we moved here two years ago we were lucky enough to discover raspberry bushes, blueberry bushes and a strawberry patch. Last winter we pruned the raspberry and blueberry bushes and it seems to be paying off. They’re producing more and better berries. The blueberries are just starting to ripen and it looks like we’ll have a sizable harvest soon. And even though its been two years now in a house with a yard, the novelty has not worn off, it still feels very special to this former city apartment dweller.

Galettes are a great way to put together a quick dessert, I love the rustic casual way they’re designed, not very fussy but pretty all the same. Oh, and the dough was a whole new experience for me. A few months ago we bought a food processor, I had been doing most of my mixing by hand or with the kitchen-aid, but that doesn’t work so well for cutting butter into flour so I would cut it by hand which was a lot of work, so this week was my first time making pie dough with the food processor and, wow, just wow, in seconds I had my dough made. I was blown away. The dough recipe is for two pie crusts, it’s nice having one in the freezer ready to go.

Berry + Cherry Galette

4 cups of berries and cherries (I used 2 cups raspberries and 2 cups cherries)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
13” pie dough, recipe below

Preheat an oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out into a 13-inch round. Fold the round in half, transfer to the baking sheet lined with parchment paper, unfold the round.

In a bowl, lightly stir together the berries, lemon juice, sugar and flour. Spoon the filling onto the dough, leaving a 2-inch border uncovered around the edge. Fold the edge up and over the filling, forming loose pleats. Bake until the filling is bubbling and the pastry is golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Transfer the galette to a wire rack and let cool slightly. Cut into wedges and serve. Makes one 9-inch galette

Pie Dough

11-1/4 oz. (2-1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 oz. (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
5 oz. (about 2/3 cup) ice water

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the chilled butter using a stand mixer, a food processor, or a pastry blender until the butter is evenly distributed but still in large, visible pieces. Add the ice water all at once to the flour and butter. Mix the dough just until it begins to come together (if using a stand mixer or a food processor, be especially careful not to overmix the dough). Note: it’s recommended to remove butter/flour mixture from the processor and incorporate the water gently to form the dough by hand. Gather the dough with your hands -- don't worry if you see streaks of butter -- and shape it into two disks. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Adapted from David Lebovitz and Williams-Sonoma