Rhubarb Galette with Coconut Syrup
I learnt to eat rhubarb only when I moved out of home. The first time I tried to cook it, I didn’t put much sugar in and I remember it was so tart and sour that my lips immediately pursed together. You need just the right amount of sugar to balance out the rhubarb flavour without completely taking it over. In this recipe, the amount of honey you add can be up to you because when you serve it with the coconut syrup you’ll add sweetness anyway. You’ll definitely have much more coconut syrup than galette, so leftovers can be kept in the fridge and drizzled on porridge or pancakes or cake – it’s not just pure sweetness, it’s also rich and caramel-y – the coconut sugar gives it all the flavour so definitely get your hands on some of it.
INGREDIENTS
Pastry
1 cup plain flour (132g)
6 tbsp unsalted butter (84g)
2-3 tbsp cold water
Pinch of salt
1 egg plus 2 tsp water for egg wash
Black and white sesame seeds
Filling
5-6 stalks of rhubarb, cut into varying sizes from 1 to 5cm (if you want all the pieces even you can do that do that too)
2 tbsp orange juice
2 tsp corn starch
¼ cup honey
To serve
Coconut Syrup
125ml coconut water
250g coconut sugar
Smooth Ricotta
METHOD
To make pastry, add the flour and butter into a food processor fitted with a regular or dough blade. Pulse until the butter is the size of peas. If you make the butter pieces too small, you won’t get as much flakiness in the pastry. Add 2 tablespoons of cold water and pulse until dough just comes together in a ball. If it seems too dry, add an extra tablespoon of water.
Lay out a piece of plastic wrap. Tip the dough onto it and pat out to roughly form a flat squarish disc. Cover dough tightly with the plastic wrap and place in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Whilst the dough is resting, prepare the filling. Stir together the corn starch and orange juice before adding in the honey. Pour this mixture over the rhubarb pieces and mix well to coat. Leave the rhubarb pieces aside to macerate.
Prepare the coconut syrup by dissolving the coconut sugar in the coconut water over medium heat. With the help of a candy thermometer, heat the mixture to 110 degrees celsius (at this stage, if you drop the syrup in the some cold water, it forms thin strands). Pour the syrup into a clean jar and keep it in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
To prepare the galette, remove the dough from the fridge, unwrap it and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out roughly into a 20 X 20cm square. It’s a galette so it’s meant to be rustic so don’t stress if it’s not perfect, just try to keep the dough thickness around 3-4mm. Lay the dough on a baking try lined with non-stick baking paper.
Lay out the rhubarb in a single layer on the pastry, in whatever pattern you would like – shake off any excess liquid before placing each piece down. Make sure you leave a 4cm border around.
Fold the edges of the pastry over the rhubarb, pleating the edges as you go. Brush the border with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake the galette in the oven for 35 minutes or till the pastry is golden and the rhubarb is tender.
Slice the galette and serve warm with a good drizzle of coconut syrup and a dollop of ricotta.