Recipe Strawberry and Rhubarb Galette

This rustic version of the classic strawberry and rhubarb tart features a golden puff pastry, folded rustically over a simple strawberry and rhubarb filling. This delicious filling is made with fresh strawberries, rhubarb, orange zest, and elderflower liqueur for a lovely floral and summery touch! Easy to make, beautiful to look at, and a real treat for the taste buds! Enjoy it warm with ice cream! To achieve the perfect pastry for this strawberry and rhubarb galette, you need a flaky, tender, buttery, and delicately sweet crust. This requires a few ingredients and the right technique. To make the pastry, it is absolutely essential to use cold butter and cold water. As with scones or biscuits, the butter must be cold so that, when it comes into contact with the hot oven, the water it contains evaporates quickly, creating small air pockets. These small air pockets are what give the pastry its flaky texture! Using a cold liquid also prevents it from warming the other ingredients, especially the butter. Another ingredient I use in my pie crusts is vodka. Yes, you heard right: vodka! By replacing water with vodka, we limit gluten formation, and as we know, too much gluten makes for a tough pastry! Water activates gluten, so by replacing it with vodka, we reduce the water content by 40% (vodka is composed of 60% water and 40% ethanol). Be careful not to add too much vodka, however, as this could alter the taste. That's why I use a mixture of equal parts water and vodka.

INGRÉDIENTSPie Pastry

• 2 cups (240 g) All-purpose flour, measured accurately
• 1/4 cup White sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup Unsalted butter, cubed and very cold
• 4 tablespoons Ice water, and more if needed.
• 4 tablespoons Cold vodka

Strawberry-Rhubarb Filling

• 2 cups Strawberries, quartered
• 2 cups Chopped rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch slices inch
• 1/2 cup White sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Elderflower liqueur
• Zest of one orange
• 1/4 cup Cornstarch

PRÉPARATIONPreparing the Pancake Dough

1. Mix the vodka and water in a small measuring cup, then set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
3. Add the cold butter, cut into cubes, and work it into the flour with your fingertips or a pastry cutter. Work the butter until it resembles coarse sand, about the size of small peas.
4. Slowly pour in the vodka-water mixture, stirring constantly with a fork.
5. Once all the mixture is incorporated, knead the dough briefly in the bowl until it has a coarse texture.
If the dough doesn't come together, gradually add water until you get a coarse texture.
6. Shape the dough, as best you can, into a disc, then place it in a freezer bag and refrigerate for one hour to chill.
7. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it rest for 5 minutes at room temperature.
8. Then remove it from the freezer bag and place it on a well-floured work surface.
9. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 6 mm and a diameter of about 33 to 35 cm, trying to make it roughly circular (without making it perfectly round). Place the rolled-out dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
10. Fill and bake the strawberry and rhubarb tart.
11. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). In a medium bowl, combine all the filling ingredients until well blended.
12. Spread the filling in the center of the rolled-out pastry, leaving a 5 cm (2 inch) border all around.
13. Gently fold the exposed edge of the pastry over the filling, overlapping it if necessary. Press lightly to seal the edges.
14. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and water until light and fluffy. Brush the edges of the galette with this mixture, then sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
15. Bake the strawberry-rhubarb galette for 35 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.