Mini Rhubarb Strawberry Galettes: Recipe

I like food in miniature. I like dim sum, mezze, tapas and appetizers of all sorts. Working on the latest recipe development project has been an exploration of many things in miniature. One recipe that sadly will not work for my client was a terrific success when it came to ease and taste. It does not work particularly well for vacuum sealing but that's ok. It means I can share it with you here and now.

Rhubarb makes one of my favorite pies and now, my favorite galette, which is pretty much a pie for lazy people. Rhubarb requires some tender loving care to coax out the perfect balance of sweetness and especially texture. While mushy rhubarb isn't terrible, firm, sweet yet tangy rhubarb is fabulous! I like the method of macerating it with sugar. The trick to this recipe is to not let the rhubarb macerate too long. I think you could make it with just rhubarb but a little bit of strawberry really complements it. I also don't cook the filling! You don't need to, it cooks perfectly in miniature.

I'm no genius when it comes to pie crust. I wish I was but it's just not in the cards for me. I have ridiculously hot hands and I don't work with pie crust often enough to get really fast at making it. I do my best, but sometimes resort to premade pastry. I'm ok with that. If you have a favorite pie crust recipe that works for you, by all means, use it. If not, you might try the Perfect Pie Crust recipe from Simply Recipes. The beauty of this recipe is that the result is rustic, which is great for a non-perfectionist baker.

Mini Rhubarb Strawberry Galettes
Makes 8 single servings

1 1/2 cups rhubarb, sliced in 1/4 inch pieces

1/2 cup strawberries, sliced 

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

Dough for 2 9-inch pie crusts
1 Tablespoon milk
Raw or turbinado sugar for sprinkling on the crust

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar and cornstarch. Let sit for 15 minutes, no longer. Meanwhile break dough into 8 pieces and roll each one into roughly a 6 inch round. Place 1/4 cup filling into the center of the dough rounds and fold the edges over, pinching to seal, place galettes on a baking sheet. Brush the crusts with milk using a pastry brush then sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool slightly and serve.

Note these mini galettes freeze exceedingly well. Let them cool, wrap well. When ready to serve gently reheat in a 300 degree oven, about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Looking for more rhubarb recipes? My other favorite rhubarb strawberry recipe is this ginger-flavored cobbler from Sara Moulton.

A few other particularly inventive rhubarb recipes:

Rhubarb soda from Coconut & Lime

Tofu with Hot and Sour Rhubarb from Mostly Eating

Rhubarb and Raspberry Yogurt Ice Pops from La Tartine Gourmande

Red Wine Poached Rhubarb from David Lebovitz

Persian Lamb and Rhubarb Stew from Nami Nami

Chutney Cheese Puffs: Recipe

I'm a cheater, in the kitchen anyway. While I may not be a fan of mac and cheese from a box, I positively love using gourmet specialty products. What kinds of products? Jams, mustards, chutney, tapenade, Chinese sauces, so many things! Two of my favorite secret weapons are in the freezer--phyllo dough and puff pastry.

You could easily write a book on all the things you can make out of phyllo dough and puff pastry. I suggest the title "How to Succeed in Baking Without Really Trying". Once you learn how to handle them, the possibilities are endless. They even turn something mundane into something special. For example you could make a stew into an elegant pot pie. You could turn a fruit compote into pastries. You could make fancy little appetizers to serve hot from the oven. How fancy? I suggest little napoleons or tartlets. It's really easy.

A few weeks ago I had a lot of goat cheese languishing in the fridge. I had promised my friend Alison I would develop some recipes for her fabulous chutney and it dawned on me that using puff pastry I could make a delicious pastry with nothing more than goat cheese, puff pastry and chutney.

As it turns out, I am a real chutney fanatic. I am happy to have 4 or 5 jars in the fridge at once. But I should make a distinction--there are chunky chutneys and mushy chutneys. Mushy goopy chutneys have their place; they are saucy and work great in sauces and dips. But chunky chutney is what you want for this recipe so either pick up some of McQuade's Chutney or make some yourself. Runny chutney is not going to work for this recipe.

Note: The size and number of puffs you make is entirely up to you. You can make one or 101. You can make them bite sized or larger.

Goat Cheese Puffs

Puff pastry (frozen is fine)
One jar of chunky style chutney, I recommend McQuade's
Goat cheese, one log, chevre style

Allow the puff pastry to defrost according to package instructions. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut and lay out puff pastry into squares and place equal amounts of chutney and crumbled goat cheese in the center. For large puffs, use approximately 2 teaspoons of filling per 3 inch square of puff pastry. For small puffs use approximately 1/2 teaspoon of filling per 2 inch square of puff pastry. Brush the edges of the square with water and fold over to create a triangle, pressing edges to seal. Place on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes or until brown. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

FOOD