Cherry Peach Galette with Cornmeal Crust

I’ve been on a bit of a purge lately. Cleaning out closets, gathering bags of stuff to donate-- I’ve been attempting to rid myself of some of the clutter I’ve amassed. After weeks of putting it off, I finally talked myself into tackling the kitchen.

Oh, my tiny little kitchen.. A kitchen so small, I can touch both sides of it at the same time. Without stretching. I can mop the whole tile floor without ever stepping foot on it. And don’t even try to open the fridge and the dishwasher at the same time. With a tiny little kitchen, space is at a premium. The majority of my cabinets measure less than 12 inches across and my counterspace is almost nonexistent. Most of my appliances (with the exception of my KitchenAid mixer) live in the space between the top of my cabinets and the ceiling. Not quite ideal for someone who’s only 5’2”.

Although I have minimal space to store things, I find myself acquiring more and more stuff every time I turn around. Utensils, gadgets, appliances. I have more stuff than I know what to do with, and way more stuff than I have room for. So I sucked it up and tackled the clutter, throwing out or donating everything I didn’t use or really need. And it was kind of liberating.

No matter how many cookies I make, I’m sure I don’t need 8 spatulas. Gone. The electric carving knife that’s only been out of the box once? Gone. The unmatching, lidless plastic lunchmeat containers that tumble out whenever I open the cabinet? Trash. The two bamboo steamers that have never been down from the top of my fridge in the entire 5+ years I’ve lived here? Gifted to Boyfriend. I felt so accomplished in my cleaning, I shifted my attention from the top of the fridge to inside.

Leftovers + veggies that need to be used NOW = Another round of Chicken Ropa Vieja. Boom. Dinner for 3 days and no more half used things hanging out in the back of the fridge. But wait. What’s this bag of cherries still doing in here? Huh. Kind of forgot about them. Guess it’s time to take a break from cleaning to preheat the oven. We’re making pie.

Or a galette to be more specific. A rustic free-form pie baked on a baking sheet rather than a pie plate. It’s pie for people who are intimidated by pie. No double crusts, no crimping, no fuss. You can get into this pie game, I promise.

Pair the cherries up with some juicy peaches and toss them around in some sugar and vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract). They play very well together. Wrap them up in some amazing cornmeal pie crust. It's flaky, tender, and has just a touch of texture and crunch. Sprinkle it all over with sugar and let it all get golden and bubbly. Serve it up with some sweetened whipped cream or ice cream and you won't be disappointed.

Leftovers should always be this good.

**Note: I'm not sure how readily available fresh cherries and peaches are anymore. I kind of got into vacation mode very early, and sorta forgot to put this post up when I made it.. almost a month ago.. My bad. Feel free to substitute frozen for fresh. Or throw some delicious apples in it instead!

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Cherry Peach Galette with Cornmeal Crust
Adapted from Epicurious and The Vanilla Bean Blog
Makes 4 individual 4-inch galettes or 1 large 12-inch galette



Crust:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cut into cubes
4 teaspoons ice water
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 egg, beaten, for brushing
1 tablespoon raw sugar, for sprinkling

Filling:
1 pound peaches (2 medium), peeled, pitted, and sliced into ½-inch slices
½ pound sweet cherries, stemmed, pitted, and chopped in half
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1. Make crust: In a large bowl, sift together flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt until well combined. Using a pastry cutter, add shortening and chilled butter and cut into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir together ice water and vinegar. Making a well in the center of the flour mixture, add liquid, stirring until dough comes together and holds together when squeezed. If mixture is too dry, add additional water, a half teaspoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency.
2. Turn dough out onto clean work surface, pat into a disk and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Chill dough in refrigerator until cold, at least an hour.
3. Make filling: In a medium bowl, stir together sliced peaches, chopped cherries, granulated sugar, and vanilla bean paste until well combined.
4. Assemble: Preheat oven to 375F. Line baking sheet(s) with parchment paper. If making individual galettes, divide chilled dough into 4 pieces. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thick, about 6 inches around for individual galettes or about 14 inches for a large galette. Gently transfer dough to prepared baking sheet. Mound filling in the center of the dough, spreading to about an inch from the edge for individuals or 2 inches from the edge for large. Fold edges over filling, overlapping and pleating every couple inches around. Return to refrigerator and chill for another 20 minutes. Once chilled, brush dough with beaten egg. Sprinkle with raw sugar.
5. Bake, rotating pan(s) halfway through until dough is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before serving.