Rustic fruit desserts are my favorite, and I almost always order one if it’s on the menu when we eat out. (My husband likes to guess what dessert I’ll choose, and he’s usually right because my taste is so predictable.) However, unless there’s a birthday or holiday to be celebrated, or a Daring Bakers challenge to try to conquer, I rarely bake desserts of any kind at home.
But the rhubarb and kumquats that were yesterday’s impulse buys at the farmer’s market got me pining for something chunky and tart and sweet and coarse and juicy and messy and perfect in its imperfection. A galette of the rhubarb and kumquats along with some of the other market bounty — strawberries and basil — seemed about right.
I’m submitting this as my first entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, the venerable and popular event founded by Kalyn (Kalyn’s Kitchen) and hosted this week by Anh of Food Lover’s Journey. I think both rhubarb and kumquats are interesting enough to merit “featured plant” status, so I randomly picked the kumquats.
The kumquat is a diminutive oval fruit that resembles a tiny orange. It is never peeled and often eaten whole, seeds and all. The flesh is sour, the rind sweet, and the seeds bitter; I find the burst of flavors when I pop one into my mouth to be refreshing and jolting.
Kumquats can also be chopped or sliced and used in fresh relishes, marmalades, meat and fish dishes, and desserts. I had never cooked or baked with them before, but I’ve bookmarked some tempting recipes, listed at the end of the post.
I didn’t buy a huge number of kumquats, and I wanted to have some left for snacking, so I used them as a garnish on the top of the galette only. The inspiration to candy them came from this recipe at The Kitchn, where I also got the idea of cornmeal in the crust for added rusticity. The strawberry-rhubarb filling is adapted from this one from Food & Wine. The basil was my own idea, and I could have used a little more; its flavor here is very subtle.
Strawberry-Rhubarb-Kumquat Galette
Yield: 8 – 12 servings (one 10-inch galette)
Pastry Crust Ingredients (NB – this makes enough dough for TWO galettes):
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (1 cup) chilled butter, cut into small pieces
- Approximately 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon ice water
Candied Kumquats/Glaze Ingredients:
- 6 large kumquats, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds, seeds removed
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
Filling Ingredients:
- 3/4 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 3 cups)
- 1 pint strawberries, cut into thick slices
- 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-3/4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1-1/2 tablespoons flour
Finishing Ingredients:
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- coarse sugar
Method:
- Make the crust: Place flours, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process briefly to combine. Add the butter and process just until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. With the processor running, add icewater in a thin stream until the dough just holds together. Divide the dough in half, press each half into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least one hour. (Reserve one disk for another use.)
- Candy the kumquats: Mix kumquats, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat, add the basil, and simmer for 10 minutes, until the syrup has thickened. Set aside. (Do not discard the syrup; it will be used to glaze the baked galette.)
- Preheat the oven, with baking stone, to 400F.
- Roll out chilled dough into a 14-inch circle. Chill for 10 minutes. (I draped the dough over a chilled stainless steel bowl to make it fit in my refrigerator.)
- While the rolled-out dough is chilling, toss the filling ingredients together.
- To assemble, place the crust on a piece of parchment paper at least 10 inches square. Mound the filling in the center of the crust, leaving a 2-inch margin. Arrange the candied kumquats on top of the filling. Fold the edges in over the filling, pleating the dough to lie flat. Brush the dough with egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- With a peel, transfer the galette (on the parchment) to the baking stone. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.
- While the galette is still warm, brush the top (both crust and filling) with the reserved kumquat syrup.
Now go check out some other kumquat recipes:
- Kumquat Salsa (Simply Recipes)
- Kumquat Cake (Habeas Brulee)
- Porquat Stirfry (Jumbo Empanadas)
- Scallops Ceviche and Kumquats (La Tartine Gourmande)
- Kumquat Marmalade (Feeding Maybelle)
- More recipes at Food Blog Search
Great entry, and this sounds like a delicious recipe. I’m intrigued by kumquats, maybe because I rarely see them here.
look so good.
You have an award waiting 😉
Lovely!! I have a rhubarb tart in the oven at this moment, and I wish I had seen your recipe before I started mine. I’ve never baked with kumquats.
hi i was wondering if you bought the new book from michel suas, advanced breads and pastry
beautiful looking galette! they were out of rhubarb by the time i got to the market this weekend, but i will definitely add this to the list to make!
Do kumquats grow in your area or were they imports brought in to round out the farmer’s market offering?
Here in Ontario, my rhubarb is only about 6 inches high. I have a couple of more weeks before I can harvest and bake.
This looks amazing. What a nice combination for the filling! My mouth is watering, yum!
This looks delicious!!!
Kalyn thanks! I’m a big fan of WHB and happy to be participating finally.
Zainab & Meedo, you are dolls for thinking of me.
Eileen, I’m sure your tart will be as wonderful as everything else you bake!
Pollyo, I don’t have it yet. I plan to pick it up at the school soon.
Mimi, I hope you find the rhubarb next time!
Dana, yes, they are grown here in California (mostly southern CA but a few closer to SF also). I wish I had rhubarb growing in my yard!
Farida, strawberry and rhubarb is a familiar combination I’ve known since childhood but the kumquats add a nice little kick.
Gretchen Noelle, thanks! Are kumquats grown in Peru?
Hi Susan,
I have been eating kumquats ever since January, and I just used my last pound on a chutney. Why couldn’t I have had this recipe earlier? All the kumquats are gone now. I think this dish is worth waiting 8 months for though. 🙂
Susan this is simply spectacular! Just had kumquats while I was in Seattle! Oh they are lovely. And I really think with rhubarb they would pair well! Strawberry too! Basil. . . all together now one – two – three – hooray!!
I love rustics!
I love rustic desserts, and this looks delicious! I made a batch of candied kumquats last weekend after a similar impulse purchase at the farmer’s market, which means I’m already 1/3 of the way to making this tart 🙂 Perhaps I’ll find rhubarb at the market this weekend and try my hand at galette making
Susan, kumquat chutney sounds great too!
Tanna, I wish I had used a bit more basil, but the amount of kumquats — just on top — was about right to not make it too sour.
Jen, with the kumquats already made you’re practically done! You live near me, probably we got our kumquats from the same grower.
YUM, this looks wonderful. I love rhubarb so much and made a few things already this year, but i never thought of combining them with kumquats. great job (and thanks for linking to my marmalades.)
I’m with you – I’d rather have something rustic any day – especially when you have a peek at what’s inside and it has a bit of a crunch to the pastry too. Really beautiful.
Susan I’ve tagged you for the 123 if you’re so inclined.
i always make two pie crusts at a time — it’s so wonderful to have one sitting the freezer, waiting to be used! i love making this kind of dessert too, although when i’m at a restaurant, i always go for chocolate. 🙂
I was so inspired by the basil that i put it in three different fruit pies. Thanks.
iam a new produce manager when we got kumquats in i had no idea what they were or how to use them. i just thought it was a bad name my brothers called me when we were little. thanks to your website and information i can now answer all my customers questions. i am looking forward to makeing a strawberry kumquate pie thanks marie
Am curious about freezing galettes. Are they good candidates? I’d presume that they’d need to be baked off before freezing?
Fresh baked is always best, but there are times when you want to prep ahead.
Can I make this with plums and freeze the whole thing ahead? Can’t do much last minute…too many people coming.
Do plums need to be peeled?
Thank you