Strawberry-Rhubarb Galette with Black Pepper and Vanilla

Ingredients

• 1 refrigerated pie crust (about 9 inches), thawed if frozen
• 1 lb fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered (about 3 cups)
• 2 stalks fresh rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tsp water (egg wash)
• 1 tbsp turbinado or coarse sugar, for sprinkling
• vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving

Steps

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.

2. 2

   In a large bowl, combine the strawberries, rhubarb, granulated sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, black pepper, salt, and lemon zest. Toss until the fruit is glossy and the cornstarch has disappeared into the juices — the mixture should look like it means business.

3. 3

   Roll the pie crust out directly on the parchment-lined sheet pan into a rough 11–12 inch circle. It does not need to be a perfect circle — that is the entire point of a galette.

4. 4

   Pile the fruit into the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border all the way around. Spoon in the fruit, but leave most of the loose pooled juice behind in the bowl — a little syrup follows the fruit, a flood will leak under the crust.

5. 5

   Fold the border up and over the edge of the fruit in loose pleats, working your way around. The pastry should overlap itself naturally — do not fight it, do not measure, do not panic.

6. 6

   Brush the exposed pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with the turbinado sugar.

7. 7

   Bake 38–45 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through, until the crust is deeply golden brown and the fruit juices in the center are actively bubbling and thickened. If the crust threatens to over-brown before the fruit is done, tent loosely with foil.

8. 8

   Let the galette cool on the sheet pan for at least 20 minutes before sliding it onto a board or platter — this passive rest lets the juices set so the slices hold together instead of becoming red soup.

9. 9

   Slice into wedges and serve warm with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream. The black pepper hits at the end — like the strawberry told you a secret on the way out.