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Hello from the month of May!
It seems I blinked and April had come and gone. When I looked up, May was here, and with it came open windows, bright green leaves on all of the trees, honeysuckle scented air, baby sheep & cows in all the pastures, and strawberries in my garden.
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I love strawberries because they seem to usher in the warmer seasons. The actual first taste of the bounty to come. There’s just something so good about that. It makes me happy.
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The recipe I’m sharing with you today is definitely a grown up dessert. It’s a little something different than your run of the mill sweet strawberry pie. I macerated strawberries in a balsamic and honey mix, baked it up in a whole wheat crust & topped it off with some freshly ground pepper. It’s hearty, a little bit tart, and really tasty.
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Honey Balsamic Strawberry Galette
For the crust:
(adapted from martha stewart)
makes 2
2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 freshly ground pepper
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small
1/4 cup ice water, plus more if needed
For the filling:
1 pint fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon almond flour
(this part is optional, but it helps to soak up excess juices)
1 egg, beaten
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt and pepper; pulse to combine. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds. (To mix by hand, combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then cut in butter with a pastry blender.)
With machine running, add ice water through feed tube in a slow, steady stream, just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Test by squeezing a small amount of dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Turn out dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into flattened disks. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
Slice strawberries, toss in bowl with balsamic vinegar & honey. Let sit for 1 hour or more, up to 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 375. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Lay crust flat on cookie sheet or cast iron pan. Strain strawberries, reserving the liquid.
Combine the flour, sugar and almond flour, and sprinkle around the center of the dough, leaving 2 inch border.
Mound strawberries on top of the dough, then fold dough over, overlapping where necessary. Brush dough with egg. Bake until golden brown & bubbling, about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, place remaining balsamic & honey in a small saucepan, adding 2 more tablespoons of balsamic and 3 more tablespoons of honey, boil until thickened.
Remove galette from oven & top with freshly ground pepper. Serve warm with balsamic honey sauce.
PS, check out my feature on Oh Joy!