I feel so fancy!

I made a galette!

Are you ready for a lot of photos and an explanation of three recipe trials? [That was your warning!]

First, let’s chat about rhubarb.

My cousin’s cousin’s wife [can we just call her my cousin?] gave me a grocery bag FULL of rhubarb from her yard. It randomly grows in three large patches in her backyard. I had never cooked with or eaten rhubarb before last week.

And now I’m obsessed. This vegetable has always scared me. I mean look at it.

Yes, it is a vegetable! The fading red to green stalks have nothing to do with ripeness. There are just a few different varieties with varying color.

If I had to describe the taste, I would say it falls somewhere in between strawberries + cranberries after cooking with honey or sugar. Biting into it raw has a juicy crunch with a fruity but sour flavor.

Interesting little stalks these are.

I’ve wanted to make a galette for some time now. It may just be because of the fun name. It’s basically like pie crust that you don’t put into a pie pan. You roll it out, put the toppings in the center, and then fold over the edges.

Sounds easy enough, right?

Wrong.

Say hello to trial number 1-

crust – oat flour, almond meal, coconut oil, honey, lemon zest, salt

The crust needed a bit more flour.

filling – rhubarb, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, tapioca starch, vanilla, and salt

The honey and lemon juice created way too much liquid.

After 10 minutes in the oven, this was oozing with honey + rhubarb. As terrible as this looks, I ate half of it while trial two was in the oven. No shame.

The second dough was a bit more crumbly, so I decided to press it into muffin pan molds.

They look so cute, right?

Wrong.

Say hello to trial number 2-

crust – buckwheat flour, almond meal, sweet rich flour, coconut oil, honey, lemon zest, salt

dry + crumbly – the buckwheat flavor was too strong – gritty in texture

filling – rhubarb, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, tapioca starch, vanilla, and salt

The honey + lemon juice mixture from trial 1 actually worked fine in the little cups. Although the rhubarb looks dried out, it wasn’t at all.

These were too crumbly and the buckwheat flour flavor was overpowering.

Well, after 3 trials I think I got it!

If you’re afraid of making fancy pie crusts this recipe has your name all over it. You don’t need a perfect circle or smooth edges.

It’s meant to look rustic!

Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

So there was a little oozing juice but not enough to cause any harm. Just break it off + move on. Seriously!

I can’t even tell you how excited I am for this crust!

It has a slight crumble with a soft buttery texture but stays crisp around the edges. There is a light sweetness to the crust with a hint of lemon. The filling has a lightly sweetened but tart flavor with a kick of lemon and a hint of ginger. The mixture thickened nicely and the rhubarb softened just as I hoped.

The best part is you can make it free-form like I did or press it into a muffin tin or tart pan.

And then top it with vanilla bean ice cream + pecans.

It begs for vanilla bean ice cream.

I made a galette! I made a galette!

And now you can too!

Print This!

Lemon Rhubarb Galette

serves 4-6

Lemon Rhubarb Filling

1 1/4 cup rhubarb, chopped 1/2” pieces
1/4 cup sucanat
1 Tablespoon tapioca starch
1 Tablespoon raw honey
1.5 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon zested ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, mix together the sucanat, starch, honey, zest, ginger, and salt until combined.
Add in the rhubarb + stir.
Add to the crust in step 11 below.

notes: Pure cane sugar can be substituted for sucanat. Pure maple syrup can be subbed instead of honey to make this vegan. Arrowroot or cornstarch can be used instead of tapioca.

Almond Meal + Oat Crust [inspired by My New Roots, Plum Yummy Galette]

1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup gluten free oat flour
1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil, cold
1.5 Tablespoons raw honey
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
parchment paper

Preheat your oven to 375*.
Make sure your coconut oil is cold by measuring it and then placing in the freezer for about 15min.
In your food processor pulse the almond meal, oat flour, and salt until combined.
Add in the cold coconut oil and turn on for about 15-30 seconds, until the coconut oil starts to break down and combine.
Add in the honey + lemon zest and pulse until combined and the mixture starts to come together. [refer to first photograph] The mixture should easily hold together when pressed between your hands.
Remove all of the dough and on a floured surface [use oat flour] kneed just a few times to form a ball and then flatten slightly [about 1” thick] and shape into a disc.
Wrap tightly in saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until well chilled.
Remove from the fridge, and flour your parchment paper and the top of the dough.
Roll out into a circle [doesn’t have to be perfect] until the dough is about 1/8” thick all around. You want to work quickly so the dough doesn’t become too warm. If the edges split a bit it’s okay.
Place the filling in the middle, leaving about a 2 inch ring around the outside. [refer to photo 7]
Fold the edges up over the filling in 4-5 increments. Gently pinch together as you fold each side up. You want to leave about a 4” opening in the center. [refer to photo 8]
Move to a large baking sheet with the parchment paper underneath and bake for 30min on the center rack. The edges should be a dark golden brown and the top should be a lighter golden brown.
Let fully cool before slicing with a large, sharp knife. Carefully transfer to a plate with a thin spatula. Store in the fridge.

notes: Easily made vegan by subbing pure maple syrup instead of honey. The dough shouldn’t be too dry, but if it’s crumbly and not holding together when you press it between your hands, add 1Tbs ice cold water to the mixture and pulse around a few more times. Add another Tbs if needed. If it’s too oily + soft, add 1Tbs at a time more oat flour and pulse. Cold butter can most likely be subbed for the coconut oil. Almond meal is simply made by grinding raw almonds [unroasted/unsalted] into a flour. Oat flour can be made by grinding certified gluten free rolled oats, steel cut oats, or oat grounds into a fine flour.

More rhubarb recipes coming soon. Have no fear.

You can find my first rhubarb recipe over at SHFT.com. I made a Lemon Rhubarb Compote that I’ve been spreading on everything!

Ashley

Vanilla Bean Coconut Butter Cups with Chocolate Peanut Butter

yields ~20 mini cups // *edited 2/28/13

for the cups:

1 cup coconut butter, melted

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

2 tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil, melted

1 tablespoon warmed honey/maple syrup, or pure cane sugar, optional

for the chocolate peanut butter filling:

1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter

1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon maple syrup, warmed

pinch fine grain sea salt

In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, cocoa powder, maple syrup, and pinch of salt. Stir until smooth. Mixture will be thick. Set aside.

Add your melted [see notes] coconut butter to your food processor and turn on. If you just made the coconut butter, keep it spinning in the food processor.

Add the melted coconut oil and let process for 15sec.

Add the vanilla bean seeds and warm honey or 1T pure cane sugar if using. Continue to process until smooth. Add 1T extra melted coconut oil to smooth out if necessary. If using honey it can take an additional 5+ minutes to smooth out again.

Line a mini muffin pan with 20 mini liners and add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of coconut butter to the bottom of each.

Take about 1t of the chocolate peanut butter and flatten it slightly in between your fingers. Place on top of each cup.

Top with 1 – 1 1 /2 teaspoons coconut butter and lightly tap the top to level.

Sprinkle with coarse sea salt if desired.

Place the pan in the freezer or fridge to set. Best if stored in a sealed container in the fridge.

notes: I use an 11c Cuisinart food processor. *One reader informed me that the honey did not allow the mixture to smooth out after adding. Mine worked after 5min of processing, but to play it safe you may just want to add sugar. If you don’t have coconut oil to add to the butter, do not sub any other oil. To melt your coconut butter: Place glass jar of your coconut butter a cold water bath in a medium sized pot. Make sure the water is below the top of the bowl/jar. Turn the heat on low and gently heat the coconut butter. You don’t want to start on a higher heat or start with hot water or the bowl/jar can crack. Stir until melted. Or, heat in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments, stirring after each until smooth.

…

How to make coconut butter: [yields ~ 1 1/3c]

4 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

In a food processor [11c works great with 4c of coconut], add the coconut and turn on until the coconut is creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary [I’ve found a butter knife works the best because plastic spatulas will tear from the blade]. Takes about 6-10min.

Once it’s smooth, I make sure to scrape the bottom + sides really well and continue to process for another 1-2min until completely drippy.

If using, add in vanilla beans, warmed maple syrup [or honey], etc. while turned on. Process until smooth. For every cup of coconut butter, I recommend adding no more than 1T of warmed honey/maple syrup or the mixture won’t smooth out. You can also use pure cane sugar.

Store in a sealed jar, in a cool cabinet. Melts at about 75 degrees.

And for a little refresher:

Coconut Oil: Oil that is extracted from the coconut meat. Extra virgin unrefined coconut oil turns clear when melted and has a smoke point of 350*. It’s great in baked goods as a butter/oil replacement.

Coconut Butter: The coconut meat is pureed into creamy butter. Coconut butter contains all of the oil, plus the fiber [and other nutrients] from the meat. It has a bit more texture because of this as well. Coconut butter is a milky, white color when melted.