Recently a friend of mine arrived with two bags of fruit, one of blueberries and one of blackcurrants, which she had diligently sourced for one reason only – to beg me to make a dessert she had seen on the web for Blueberry Galette, one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes. Accompanying the fruit was a bottle of Moet, so how could I refuse! There were enough berries to make two tarts and so we both had the extreme joy of partaking in this mouth-watering delight. All I can say is – do make this or get someone to make it for you!!
Blueberry galette
140g plain flour, plus extra to dust
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon icing sugar
Salt
85g unsalted butter, fridge-cold and cut into 2cm cubes
65g cream cheese
1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar
150g blueberries
150g blackcurrants
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1½ tbsp cornflour
55g demerara sugar
1 piece star anise, finely ground (or 1 teaspoon ground star anise)
1 egg, lightly beaten
In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, icing sugar and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Add the butter and, with the tips of your fingers, rub into the mix until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the cream cheese and vinegar, and mix well until soft and combined, then shape into a ball, wrap in cling-film and set the pastry aside in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Heat the oven to 180C. Mix the blueberries, blackcurrants, zest, cornflour, 50g of the demerara sugar and the ground star anise in a small bowl – crush a few of the berries, to help the mix combine –and set aside.
Roll out the pastry 0.5cm thick on a lightly floured surface, then cut out a 28cm-wide circle and roll this around your floured rolling pin – this will make it easier to move. Unroll on a large, parchment-lined baking sheet, pour the fruit into the centre of the circle and spread it out so that it leaves a 5cm rim clear around the edge. Fold in the edges of the pastry, overlapping as you go, until all the pastry is drawn in and the fruit is sealed (you should have about 12 folds). Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle on the remaining teaspoonful of sugar.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the pastry is cooked through and golden-brown. Remove the tray from the oven and set aside for 30 minutes before serving warm-ish, or allow it to cool down to room temperature, if you prefer.
Serve with vanilla ice-cream or double-thick cream.
