Refreshing Rhubarb and Strawberry Galette

Last week I started to think about rhubarb, and felt inspired to bake a rhubarb and strawberry galette if rhubarb was available at our local natural grocery store.

Luckily rhubarb was available, and the strawberries are already in season.

This is a very simple recipe, and the only part that takes a little effort and time is the dough.

The recipe is a combination of two galette recipes from the San Francisco Chronicle, and serves 8.

For tart dough:

2 cups of unbleached white flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons cold, unsalted organic butter, cut into very small cubes

3 to 6 tablespoons ice water

1 egg, yolk and white divided

Some flour for rolling out the dough

For filling:

5 or 6 medium sized stalks of fresh, organic rhubarb (as pictured above)

1 pint of fresh, organic strawberries

2 tablespoons of natural cane sugar

First make the tart dough and preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine the salt and flour in a large bowl. Add the butter and work the fat and flour together, first with a pastry cutter or fork to break the butter into small, kernel sized pieces. Then work the dough with your hands.

When the butter is evenly distributed add 3 tablespoons ice water and quickly work it into the mixture so that all of the dough can be formed into a ball. If needed you can work in one or 2 additional tablespoons of ice water.

Shape the dough into a disc and wrap it in parchment paper. Chill the disc in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes before rolling it out.

While the dough is chilling in the refrigerator, rinse, trim and cut the rhubarb stalks into roughly 3/4 - inch cubes.

Toss the rhubarb cubes in a large bowl.

Rinse the strawberries and cut into halves or fourths, depending on the size of the berries.

Add the strawberries to the rhubarb cubes and add the 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Toss the fruit well with the sugar.

Unwrap the dough and use the same parchment paper you used to wrap the dough as your work surface, placing the paper on a counter or large wooden cutting board. Sprinkle a little flour on the parchment paper, as well as on top of the dough disc. Roll out the dough with firm, even strokes, turning the dough, sprinkling with flour as needed until the pastry round is about 1/4 - inch thick.

Place the pastry round on a baking sheet or in a large glass Pyrex pie pan.

Paint the base of the dough with the egg yolk. The egg yolk acts as a sealant to prevent the fruit juices from seeping through the bottom of the dough.

Pile the fruit pieces onto the center of the dough, leaving a 4-inch margin of dough all around.

Fold the dough toward the center of the tart to partially cover the fruit.

The dough edges will be rough and parts of the dough will overlap.

Paint the dough with the egg white.

If you want, you could sprinkle roughly crushed sugar cubes onto the crust.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry turns golden-brown.

Cut in wedges to serve.