ginger plum galette

i recently attended a writing workshop at the public school that focused on using our own surroundings as a sort of text. one of our activities entailed walking around brooklyn by ourselves attentively, taking notes on our surroundings. the idea was to observe the mundane, to revel in it with meticulousness, rather than to yield to the temptation to notice the unusual, the striking, and to mentally trail off or be reminded of something else. it's hard, to say the least.
i find it nearly impossible to think this way when i'm in new york. when i walk or when i take the subway, i am always rushing--if i'm not late, i'm anxious about getting somewhere, so i'm constantly irritated at the people around me who are walking too slowly, too aimlessly, who don't know where they're going, who are in my way. new york, or at least manhattan, warps me into somebody who is incessantly irritated, impatient, and distracted.

there are two exceptions. one of them is when i walk home from yoga every night, the twenty minutes that have become the favorite part of my day. the sidewalks are wonderfully empty, the humidity has settled, my body is tired but buzzing with endorphins and i am in no rush whatsoever. it is the only time of day when i can calm the hell down.
my second mental reprieve is when i'm cooking. of course my mind wanders while i'm chopping onions, peeling carrots, kneading bread dough, cutting butter into flour for a pie crust. i listen to music, i talk to my family, i make mental to-do lists, i think about what i'm reading or what i want to eat for breakfast in the morning. i pick over what happened that day. i process.

but it's a different kind of distraction--it isn't urgent, anxious, or resentful. the kinds of thoughts that can coexist with the hum of what my hands are doing. feeling dough come together under my fingers, stirring butter into melting chocolate over a double boiler. i can let my brain do what it will, but all the while it is with an awareness of what i'm aiming at, what i'm making. an attention to small, commonplace cooking miracles, like this crust, which is going straight into my vault of beloved crust recipes. flaky, yes, but lighter than your average pate brisée, more yielding, less sweet. i stuffed it with thinly sliced plums that i bought from a street vendor because i was feeling too irritable and impatient to wade through the swarms of people at the greenmarket or whole foods. spread out in a thin layer, they bake into a jammy, lightly tart ooze, not unlike rhubarb, but studded with chunks of candied ginger. i served it warm, with dollops of honey-spiked greek yogurt, but whipped cream, ice cream or creme fraiche would work just as well (although they will not give you the liberty to eat pie for breakfast the way yogurt does, i'm just sayin').
try it with whatever stone fruits you like. also, i should note that i was hesitant to use entirely white whole wheat flour in a crust but it was all i had on hand, and i was thrilled with the results--it was not tough or dense in the slightest.

think of this galette as a chilled out pie--the crust handles like a dream (i even rolled it out with a wine bottle) and there is none of the fuss of a pie dish or a lattice top or an overflowing dough seam. have a slice to round out a big, crunchy salad (oh christ, i made another carrot salad the other day that i cannot stop thinking about, will post it soon) and, if you've been terminally cantankerous like i have recently, use it as an opportunity to chill the hell out.

(i had an iced coffee at el beit a few hours ago and lord, was it strong. not only am i still twitching and stomachachey, but i also never write this much/this cheesily [hopefully]. i apologize for rambling. it's the caffeine talking, i swayuh.)
ginger plum galette
serves 8
for crust:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, chilled in the freezer for 30 minutes (i used white whole wheat flour and it was totally fine, i imagine whole wheat pastry flour would work too)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 8 tbsps (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chill again
• 1/4 cup sour cream (i used 2% greek yogurt)
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup ice water

for filling:

• 6 medium sized plums, cut into 1/4" slices
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp sugar (i used more slightly more because my plums were pretty tart, adjust according to your fruit)
• 3 large pieces of candied ginger, finely chopped (2-3 tbsps)
• 1 tsp lemon zest

for assembly:

• 1 tbsp heavy cream or buttermilk (or an egg, lightly beaten with a tablespoon of cool water)
• 2 tbsps sugar (ideally sanding, coarse or demerera)

make dough: whisk together the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl. sprinkle bits of butter over dough and using a pastry blender (i used two knives, it can be done!), cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with the biggest pieces of butter the size of tiny peas.

in a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add this to the butter-flour mixture. with your fingertips or a wooden spoon, mix in the liquid until large lumps form. pat the lumps into a ball; do not overwork the dough. cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

in a medium bowl, combine all filling ingredients and toss to coat plums well. allow to sit at room temperature, tossing occasionally, while crust chills. preheat oven to 400°F. on a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12" round. transfer to an ungreased baking sheet, ideally lined with parchment paper if you plan on replating the galette later. i used a perforated pizza pan and it worked like a charm.

pile the plum mixture into the center, avoiding using most of the juice that's accumulated at the bottom (or else you'll wind up with a puddly finished product). leave a roughly 3" border of dough. if you like, reserve about a dozen plum slices and arrange them in a fan on top of the fruit. fold the border over the filling, leaving the center open and pleating the edges. it doesn't need to be perfect, galettes never are and it's part of their appeal. brush crust with buttermilk/cream/egg wash and sprinkle the whole thing with sanding sugar.

bake, between 25 and 35 minutes, until fruit is softened and crust is deeply golden. mine took exactly 22 minutes but i think i have a very eager oven, so yours might take longer. again, i served it with a honeyed greek yogurt, but use a dairy product of your choosing, or eat it plain. this isn't a dessert that demands accompaniment.