Sour Cherry, Red Currant, Rye and Poppy Galette

The changing of seasons makes me wistful. Have we come to the end already? Nights are already cool, mornings already crisp. The time seems to have slipped through my fingers and in my attempt to catch up with it, I am left grasping at air. I am worried that I will wake up and it will be winter, spring, next summer already.
I need a moment. To linger. To savor. To think.
Let’s move slower. It may be September, but that doesn’t mean summer is gone just yet. Put away your pumpkins. Plums are at the market, berries, stone fruit still. Sour cherries if you are very, very lucky.
We can move toward fall, but we can do it leisurely. In our lives and in our food, reflections of where we are. Things intertwine. Sour cherries from early summer, red currants from late, wholesome rye in the crust, because it is deeper, heartier. One season bleeds into another.
I will come around to the beauty of the fall. I always do. But I need a minute. I need to be allowed this idling, this stilling of time through food.
This end will be a beginning, soon. But right now it feels like just an end. Blunt and brutal. And I need a minute.

Yields: one galette, serving 8

Why I love this recipe: sour cherries and tart red currants combine for a vibrant, mouth-puckering filling and are enhanced by just a bit of vanilla infused sugar and amaretto liquor. The rye crust is hearty, yet flaky thanks to my frozen butter and quick lamination method, and poppy seeds add a delightful crunchy texture to this late summer galette. 

For the rye pie dough:

• 3/4 cups rye flour
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/2 stick frozen butter
• 1/2 stick cold butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 2-3 tablespoons ice water
• 2 tablespoons turbinado mixed with 2 tablespoons poppy seed, for crust
• 1 egg yolk, mixed with 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash

For the sour cherry and red currant filling:

• 1 quart sour cherries, washed, stemmed and pitted
• 1/4 cup red currants, washed and stemmed
• 1/3 cup vanilla sugar
• pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons amaretto liquor
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch or tapioca starch

1. To make the crust, combine the flours, sugar and salt in a bowl. Use your fingers to cut in the stick of cold butter until it is the size of peas. Then cut in the frozen butter, leaving it in bigger, visible pieces.
2. Add the apple cider vinegar to the water and make a well in the center of the flour and butter mixture. Using a wooden spoon, mix the water into the flour until just combined.
3. If the dough seems dry, add more water a couple of teaspoons at a time. Press and fold the dough together, form into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the dough for 3-4 hours in the fridge.
4. Preheat oven to 400º. In a large bowl, gently toss the prepared fruits with the rest of the filling mixture.
5. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and on a lightly floured surface, flour the disk of dough and roll/compact it into a little rectangle. Fold it over 3 times, like a business letter. Then roll it out into a rectangle again. Repeat this process 3 times in total.
6. Now, roll the rectangle into a 9″ circle and trim the edges neatly. Fill with the fruit filling.
7. Crimp the edges together, brush with the egg wash and sprinkle liberally with turbinado/poppy mixture. Freeze for 5 minutes before baking.
8. Put the galette on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake for 50 minutes to an hour, until the juices are bubbling and the crust is dark and nicely browned.
9. Cool before serving. Top with fresh currants.