(Not up for the chitchat? Completely get it. Click the email title to go to a web-based version then jump straight to the recipe or Cultural Fun.)
I am well. Busy. Just tying up loose ends before taking a bit of time off. I’ll be pausing the newsletter until September when I’ll also be introducing a few extra features and a recipe index. Woo! Paid subscriptions have been paused for this time and I’ve also taken the paywall off the archive so feel free to have a poke around in there whilst I’m away.
Today though, I’ve been recipe testing for a kids’ baking class I’ll be doing later in the month with Jumping Beans, part of the Children With Voices charity in Hackney. CWV is a really inspiring, grassroots organisation run by an extraordinary woman called Michelle Dornelly. I’ve been volunteering with them for years now, putting on classes in the school holidays and cooking for their Community Food Hubs during lockdown.
This time we’ll be making summer fruit galettes and I thought I’d share the recipe with you today as a fun thing to make and eat, with kids or not, over the summer. Then I’ll return in September with some recipes based around all that fab late summer/early autumn produce.
Upcoming classes
There are a new dates for my workshops at the Dusty Knuckle on sale now. Fermentation on September 4th and October 2nd and Pasta on September 18th and October 16th Classes. They tend to sell out quite quickly so get booking if it’s something you fancy…
There will be more field-to-ferment Oxford workshops soon too I hope (just waiting for a few things to fall into place) and a project with the Forest Flora community garden in Walthamstow to announce so please make sure you’re subscribed to hear when they go on sale.
Recipe: Summer Fruit Galette
This is based on the Any Galette recipe from Nicola Lamb’s wonderful baking book Sift. I’ve simplified the method a bit (because I’ll be doing it with children) and made the pastry with wholemeal flour and some oats because we’ll be talking about the importance of fibre in your diet. But switch it back to plain white (or a mixture) if you want something a little less worthy.
This makes one small galette (about 15cm across) that would make a nice snack for two. Feel free to scale up if you’re feeding more.
Ingredients
60g wholemeal flour
10g rolled oats
10g sugar (plus extra for the fruit)
pinch salt
50g cold butter in 1cm cubes
1 tbsp cold water
1 tbsp plain yoghurt
150g summer fruit (berries or stone fruit)
Method
Combine the dry ingredients. Put the flour, oats, sugar and salt in a large bowl and mix well.
Add the butter. Toss it in the dry ingredients and squish each cube between your fingers and thumb to flatten. You don’t need to do that “rubbing in” thing like in a shortcrust pastry recipe. We’re leaving larger lumps which will get rolled out into pockets and create a few flaky layers.
Combine the wet ingredients. Put the water and yoghurt in a small bowl or cup and mix thoroughly. Then add this mixture to the flour and butter, mix to incorporate and bring everything together into a ball. Work as quickly as you can and don’t knead any more than you have to or the pastry will be tough.
Fold the pastry. Shape the pastry into a rough rectangular block and lightly flour the work surface and the top of the pastry. Roll it out into a rectangle about 1cm thick. Fold the top third and bottom third into the middle, as if you are folding a letter to put it in an envelope. Turn this round by 90 degrees, then roll and fold it again. Repeat this once more.
Chill the pastry. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least half an hour. Meanwhile heat your oven to 200°C and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Roll the pastry. Unwrap the pastry and, on a lightly floured surface, roll it into a rough circle about 3mm thick.
Fill and bake. Slice your fruit if necessary and pile it in the middle, leaving a border of 3cm round the edge. Sprinkle over a little sugar (the amount will depend on the tartness of the fruit - strawberries need hardly any, plums might need a tbsp or so) and any flavourings or spices you fancy. Fold up the edges to make a crust. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Allow to cool slightly before tucking in.
Notes (If Ifs And Ands Were Pots And Pans…)
As I said, I’ve kept this super simple because it’s to do with kids. You could get a fancier finish by egg washing the crust after folding and sprinkling it with demerara sugar as in Nicola’s original recipe.
I did one galette with strawberries and the scrapings of a vanilla pod as my Jumping Beans session will be berry-themed. And other with quartered apricots and a sprinkle of ground cardamon. Both were good.
You could also make things a bit fancier by adding a layer of sweetened ricotta, patisserie cream or frangipane under the fruit.
Serve hot or cold accompanied by ice cream, cream, custard or crème fraîche. I still had some of the kefir ice cream from a few weeks back which was a grand combo. Once cool it should be sturdy enough to wrap and take on a picnic.
You could leave out the sugar and do a savoury version with veg and cheese.
Cultural Fun
Exam Nation by Sammy Wright is a great book. It’s asking big questions like: “what is school actually for?” And: “how can we make the system better and fairer for everyone?” Doesn’t exactly sound like a beach read I know, but it’s very approachably written and has jokes in it too.
Sammy has been a teacher for 22 years, is Head of School at an Academy in Sunderland and a former member of the Social Mobility Commission. Full disclosure: he’s also one of my best friends. But I hope you know I wouldn’t recommend you anything that wasn’t genuinely good.
And Exam Nation really is excellent. It’s out on August 15th (you can pre-order now) but I read an advance copy and loved it. I finished and started again at the beginning immediately.
I’m taking a little time off in August but will be back with more recipes for fermented goodies in September (paid subscriptions will be paused). In the meantime, if you felt like sharing In Good Taste with friends or family who might enjoy it, you can do so with the button below. It would mean a lot to me. Thanks so much.
In Good Taste is a Sycamore Smyth newsletter by me, Clare Heal. You can also find me on Instagram or visit my website to find information about my catering work, cookery lessons and upcoming events.
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