Strawberry Rhubarb Galette

A few weeks back I was lamenting the lack of fresh fruit this time of year, and grumbling that I didn't want my rhubarb in pie form. Well, now the fruit has come in! Namely strawberries. I have been eating pints upon pints of them. And, it turns out, now I do want my fruit in the form of pie. Namely a strawberry-rhubarb galette.

This galette — the fancier name for a rustic open-faced tart — is pure early summer. My new friend rhubarb is sliced into slim little batons, which I somehow like so much more than the usual rounds. And it's paired with perfectly ripe, punchy strawberries, so red throughout that you barely need to do anything but flick off the hulls and slice them in half. And then I topped it with whipped cream, because: pie. The whole thing is a whisper of berries and rhubarb and cream, all fruit and air and butter.

Because I am a sucker for delicacy-over-structure, I went with my beloved rough puff pastry dough, which is shatteringly delicious, but lacking a bit of the structural integrity required. No matter. I scooped up the still-warm juices that escaped through the breech in the crust wall, and drizzled them over the top to glaze the top fruit. And next June, I'm sure I'll do it again. Having to soak a sheet pan is a small price to pay for this.

Strawberry Rhubarb Galette

This amount of starch and jam yields a fairly tight set, which helps keep everything together on an open-faced galette. But if you prefer a softer gel, feel free to reduce the amount of thickener.

1 pie's worth of your favorite pastry (structural issues be damned, I can't quit this one)
1 pound rhubarb, washed and cut into thin batons (1/4-inch by 3 inches)
1 pint strawberries, washed and hulled
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
2 tablespoons jam/jelly (I used apricot jam, but any other softly set preserves with complementary flavors work fine)
1 egg, beaten with a splash of water or cream
coarse sugar for sanding
lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper. Roll out your dough to a roughly 14-inch circle, and transfer to the sheet. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, starch, and jam, stirring gently until the fruit is coated with the mixture. Spread on the dough, up to a few inches of the edges. Fold the edges back over to form a 2-inch crust, crimping and pinching as needed to secure.

Gently brush the overhanging crust with the egg wash, and sprinkle with the coarse sugar. Set in the freezer for 45-60 minutes or so (or less, if you're like me and want to take exciting chances with pastry opening up in the oven).

When the galette has almost finished chilling, preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Transfer to the oven and bake until the pie is browning and the juices are thickened and bubbling, ~45 minutes. If your galette springs a leak and the juices escape, carefully pull the galette, spoon the juices back over the fruit, and return it to the oven. Let cool to room temperature before serving (with whipped cream, if desired).