YUM! Fresh peach and plum galette!

by Francine Black

I’ve been waiting impatiently for the first local stone fruits to appear in the market so I could make a family favorite, the fruit galette.

The word “ galette” seems to have its origin in the Besancon region of Eastern France where as early as the 1300’s monks put a gold piece in a free form flat cake and whoever got the slice with the gold piece was chosen to be the head of their order.

This same tradition can be found even earlier in Babylon and Rome where the lucky draw got to be king for a day. There are even more anecdotes but suffice it to say that the “gale” (pronounced gahl) was a flat, round cake with a lovely sweet or savory filling.

The galette has evolved into a free form round pastry shell, mounded with fruit or perhaps a cheesy vegetable combo with turned over edges to hold the filling. Ours is stone fruit but you could try mixed berries, strawberry rhubarb, or apricot frangipane.

A savory filling of caramelized shallots and gruyere, or perhaps thinly sliced tomatoes, black olives and shaved parmesan reggiano would be amazing too. I once tasted a butternut squash and kale combination that was out of this world.

I hope you give this a try, dear friends, now when the bounty of beautiful fresh summer fruits, vegetables and herbs are available to us.

High in the mountains above Bally, where the dense groves of treetops seem to touch the sky, is Francine Black, Boyertown’s own version of chef Julia Child. Her daily activities reflect the things she most values: family and friends, music, and lovingly prepared food.

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