The February/March Cook the Books reading selection, Dinner with Edward, inspired my mini strawberry chocolate galettes. Dinner with Edward, by Isabel Vincent, is a charmer. It’s a quick read, filled to the brim with amazing food stories, menus, and inspiration. But the heart of the book is the relationship between Edward, a retired gentleman whose wife recently died, and Isabel, a younger woman who goes through major life upheaval in the course of the book. It’s a book about friendship and food, both of which cut across generations. I really thought this one was, well, charming.
And so much food to choose from for inspiration (as you can see from my very sticky-noted copy)! I initially couldn’t decide if I was going to try one of Edward’s potato recipes, or steak, or soup, or soufflé, or martinis, or chicken, or fish, or pork. What I eventually landed on was being inspired by the apple galette that shows up around chapter three. Strawberries are slowly making their way into season (as spring seems to finally be peaking around the corner here in the PNW). I decided to aim for a version of the galette using butter instead of Edward’s recommended lard, and go for flavors that I love to share with friends. Thus, I ended up with a dozen perfect mini strawberry chocolate galettes that my husband and I have been munching on all week long.
These mini strawberry chocolate galettes would make a great Easter dessert. They’d also be delightful as the final course for a picnic. You can substitute other berries for sure – I’m definitely going to be making these again when raspberries are in season. Galettes take all the loveliness of a pie and make it into a rustic, easy to make and bake treat. They are completely free form, so all you have to do is make the pastry, roll it out, fill and bake. I added a touch of dark chocolate and some sugar macerated strawberries and called it delightful.
Oh – and I’ll confess. I did end up making a dry martini the way it was suggested in the book. I think it may be the best martini I’ve ever had in my life. If you are curious, check out either the book (which I highly recommend) or take a peek at my Instagram feed where there’s a photo of the martini and tips on how to make it.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup ice water
- 1 pint strawberries, sliced
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 egg for egg wash
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Make the pastry by combining the flour, sugar and salt. Cut the butter into chunks and add to the flour, using a fork, your hands, or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour. Add the water, a bit at a time and work into the flour/butter mix until it forms a ball. Refrigerate the pastry dough for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, combine the sliced strawberries and 2 tablespoons sugar and set aside to macerate.
- Use parchment paper to line a baking sheet.
- Melt the dark chocolate chips. Roll the chilled pastry dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Use a round cookie cutter or similar to cut the dough into small circles.
- Spoon a bit of the melted dark chocolate into the middle of each pastry dough circle. Arrange several slices of strawberries on top of each and gently fold and pinch the pastry dough up over the strawberries.
- Place each mini galette onto the parchment lined baking sheet. If you are using an egg to wash, combine the egg with a tablespoon of water and beat until frothy. Brush the egg wash over the pastry dough for each galette.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the galettes are light brown. Enjoy!
This recipe is linked up to March’s Treat Petite, hosted by Cakeyboi. Treat Petite is hosted alternative months at Cakeyboi and The Baking Explorer, so be sure to check out both awesome blogs!
And to Novel Foods #29
And to the March 2017 Foodie Reads
