Strawberry Lavender Galette

A beginning of Summer recipe that celebrates a juicy ingredient

One of the best things about living in New England is the amount of local farms around you. In many, you can even go pick your own fruits and vegetables to have a feel of the harvesting season and make your own treats at home.

Ross and I went to Wards Berry Farm a couple of weeks ago and got a bucket full of ripe strawberries (you can see some photos here). When we got home, I knew I had to make something delicious with them.

I decided to add another seasonal ingredient to the dessert, that we also got from the farm: lavender.

So here’s my strawberry-lavender galette to celebrate the season and even 4th of July for all of you enjoying the day here in the States today. It may be too late to cook it for dinner (or not if you have some pastry in the freezer!) but maybe you’ll keep it in hand for your next social gathering.

The perfect recipe for a garden party (or any kind of party!)

Some tips

For the pie crust, I owe all credit to Linda Lomelino because I always follow her recipe for pies and galettes. It has worked incredibly well every single time, so here it is. (I copied her directions below).

One thing I will add about the pie crust is to keep your butter in the freezer. Before and after you dice it. Specially now that we have higher temperatures, it’s important to keep it very cold for the recipe to work properly.

For the lavender, you should use culinary lavender. Most lavender plants are safe to eat, but if you buy Lavandula angustifolia or English lavender, you’ll be avoiding the soapy aftertaste and getting a more floral one. It’s better to be cautious in the use nonetheless and if you are not a fan, skip it altogether.

And finally, I find a necessary step to let the strawberries sit for about 20-30 minutes after they have been mixed with the sugar and lavender. They will release a lot of juice that you can keep to add to drinks and cocktails (I have my syrup in the fridge) and by draining them before filling the pastry it will mean they will not leak out so much while baking. I also keep a couple of tbsp. of juice to mix with cornstarch and incorporate to the filling so it’s a bit more set.

Ingredients

PIE CRUST

• 1 1/4 cup (180 g) all purpose flour + extra for rolling

• 1 tbsp. granulated sugar

• 1/2 tsp. flaky salt if using unsalted butter, a pinch of salt if using salted butter

• 150 g very cold butter, diced or grated

• 3-5 tbsp. ice water

FILLING

• ⅔ cup (133 g) plus 1½ tsp. sugar 

• 1½ lb. (680 g) fresh strawberries, hulled, thinly sliced 

• 2 tbsp. cornstarch

• 3/4 tsp. dried culinary lavender

• Zest of 1 lemon

EGG WASH

• 1 egg

• pinch of salt

• 1 tsp. Demerara sugar

• 1 tbsp. water

Instructions

Cooking time: 40 minutes (+ 30 minutes the day before)

Servings: 6

PIE CRUST

1. Combine flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the diced or grated butter to the dry ingredients, and using your fingers rub in the butter until dough is crumbly but there are still some small visible pieces of butter. You can also use a pastry cutter or food processor for this step.

2. Drizzle with ice water, 1 tbsp at a time, and mix gently with a fork until dough just comes together, do not knead the dough.

3. Form the dough into a ball, then flatten into a disc. Place the dough in an airtight container or wrap in cling film and place in fridge for at least one hour, up to two days. Freeze the dough if not using within two days. 

FILLING & BAKING

1. Remove the dough from the fridge and leave it at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to soften, if needed. Roll out the dough to a large circle on a lightly floured surface, about 1/8 – 1/4 inch (3-5 mm) thick. Make sure to roll and turn the dough so it doesn’t stick to the surface.

2. Using the rolling pin, transfer the dough to a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Place the rolled out dough in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

3. Zest 1 lemon and using your fingers, rub it into the sugar with the dried lavender in a medium bowl until very fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the strawberries, previously sliced, and gently toss with your hands to coat, being careful not to break the fruit. Let sit until the strawberries are very juicy, about 20 minutes.

4. Drain the berries, reserving 2 tbsp. juice. Combine the juice and the cornstarch in a small bowl and stir to dissolve. Add to berries and gently stir to combine.

5. Take the dough from the fridge and add the strawberries trying to make an organic spiral pattern leaving a couple of inches of the edge free from filling.

6. Fold the edges over the fruit and press gently to seal. Transfer the galette to the fridge or freezer for 10 minutes, meanwhile preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).

7. Whisk together the egg, water and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Remove the galette from the freezer, then brush the edges with the egg wash and sprinkle with 1 tsp. Demerara sugar.

8. Bake the galette for 30-40 minutes in the lower part of your oven or until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling.

9. Let cool before serving. If you like eating your pie warm, reheat slices in the microwave or oven. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream and sprinkle some extra lavender if you fancy. In this case we ate it with dairy cream ice cream (called nata in Spain) Ross made from scratch. What a treat!

A great galette plus extra strawberry-lavender syrup for your drinks!