Late September, early October to-dos:
Apple picking is something we all look forward to, and this year the season seemed to have snuck up out of nowhere. September breezed by so quickly, and now that it’s October I want to celebrate as much of the gorgeous bounty that is fall produce that I can! Apples are a staple in my diet all-year, but there’s something about a handpicked apple that makes the whole act of eating and cooking with this versatile fruit all the better.
Water’s Orchard, a local grove very close to where I grew up is one I go to yearly. The pastoral farm is vast, with rows of espaliered trees that stretch farther than the eye can see. The sheer amount of variety grown at Water’s is amazing. Most importantly, they have my all time favorite, the crimson crisp, which has a bight red skin and crunchy interior. I’m also a fan of cameo and of-course the cult favorite honey-crisp, which happen to be grown at Water’s too.
fallen crimson crisps at Water’s Orchard.
I hope you can squeeze in an afternoon of picking yourself, but if not, your’e sure to find some unique and delicious varieties at the farmer’s market. I used every variety I picked, totaling up to 6 types of apples on my galette. Now this isn’t necessary, but it is fun. The array of colors created by the gradations in the skins makes for a show-stopping display. Get creative with how you arrange your slices too. I fanned mine out into shingle-like patches, but you can also delicately layer individual slices into a pretty spiral.
This simple galette is made with slightly different crust- one of my favorite variations on the classic pie dough- which calls for farmers cheese, which mist know as Neufchatel. If you can’t find this type of cheese, go for low-fat cream cheese, or just replace with butter. I find the cheese to be much easier to work into the flour rather than using all butter, and the crust ends up lighter and less dense.
And while the apples are the star, I can’t forget to mention the sweetest part of this galette, which comes from the lush, caramel-like paste made from my favorite tahini and date syrup. The two make a great grounding base for the apples, by providing nutty and warm flavors to contrast the tartness from the apples. And on-top of all that, pistachios and pepitas (pumpkin seeds) cover the crust adding some crunch and color.
The Ingredients:
CRUST:
9 oz (250 grams) spelt flour -I use this lovely Sifted Spelt Flour
2 tbsp caster sugar
pinch of salt
dash of cinnamon- or whatever spice you fancy for your galette
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp cold water
1/2 cup Neufchatel cheese, cubed small (or regular cream cheese)
2 tbsp cold butter, cubed small
FILLING:
6 apples, sliced super thinly and fanned
1/4 cup of tahini
3 tbsp date syrup
TO TOP:
a beaten egg (for the egg wash, or just some milk)
1/4 cup roughly chopped pistachios
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
coarse sugar and cinnamon to sprinkle
Directions:
In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, and sugar.
Using your fingertips, rub the cold butter and cheese into the dry mix till dime size, coarse crumbs form.
pour in the cold water, and quickly mix to form a rough ball. Excessive kneading is unnecessary, but all the dry ingredients should be incorporated. Cover in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
while dough is cooling, mix together tahini and date syrup into a paste.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the ball of dough into a round, till it’s about a 1/8 inch thick.
Transfer round to a parchment lined baking tray. Use a pastry brush or knife to spread the tahini date paste (its basically caramel… yum) over the base, leaving a 3/4 inch border for the crust.
Now have fun with your apples- spread them out overtop of the tahini date paste in whatever fashion you’d like. I used a shingle-like pattern of overlapping bunches of fanned slices, but feel free to be as fancy or “rustic” with your decorating as you wish.
fold the border up over the edges of the outer apples, and brush your new-formed crust with some egg was, or milk. Sprinkle on cinnamon and sugar (I love this vanilla bean sugar for all things baking).
Bake 35-45 minutes, rotating half-way, till the crust is golden brown. Let cool (or not- that’s what the ice-cream is for), and enjoy!