Winter Hours have begun at our local Farmers’ Markets with Winter fruits a plenty! Smit Farms has several wonderful apple varieties for eating, baking and sauces. Citrus fruits have arrived from Sunrise Farms featuring Satsuma Mandarins, sweet Pomelos and Persimmons. The Fuyu which is wonderful in salads and the Chocolate Persimmon perfect for baking.
Portola Valley Farmers Market Hours – Thursdays 2- 5.https://www.facebook.com/PortolaValleyFarmersMarket
Woodside Farmers Market Hours- Sundays 10 – 2. http://www.woodsidetown.org/community/woodside-farmers-market
Menlo Park Farmers Market – Sundays 9 -1. http://www.localharvest.org/menlo-park-farmers-market-M3662
Palo Alto Farmers Market – Saturday 8 – 12. http://pafarmersmarket.org
Here is a great, quick, go to recipe for my Apple Galette. The Galette pictured here does not have the topping on it. I recommend finishing it with either the crumb or crisp topping. Not only does it taste so much more wonderful but it looks festive and ideal for a Holiday Party!
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
3 apples (1 1/2 pounds), peeled, halved, cored, halves cut into 6 1/2-inch wedges
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon flour
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped pecans
One 8-ounce frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed
All-purpose flour, for sprinkling
1 large egg, beaten
Directions
For the galette: Position a rack in the center and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples and sprinkle with the salt. Saute, tossing occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Whisk the sugar, spices and flour in a small bowl until no lumps remain. Sprinkle the spiced sugar, cranberries, pecans and lemon juice over the apples in skillet, and toss to blend. Cool to lukewarm.
Place a large sheet of parchment paper on the work surface. Unfold the pastry sheet on the parchment and sprinkle both sides lightly with flour. Roll out the pastry to 12-inch square, lifting, turning and sprinkling with more flour to keep from sticking. Cut off the corners (with a rounded cut), making a 12-inch-diameter pastry round.
Brush the pastry all over with some beaten egg. Starting 2 inches in from the edge (to leave wide border), arrange the apple wedge mixture close together in a circle on the pastry. Sprinkle half of the topping on the apple mixture then fold the pastry border partially over the filling, pleating the pastry in loose folds. Brush the folded-up pastry border with some beaten egg. Sprinkle with the remaining topping.
Slide the galette with the parchment onto a heavy baking sheet. Scrape the juices from the skillet over the apples. Bake galette until pastry edge is deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
Sometimes I like a crisp topping and sometimes a crumbly one. I’ve included both so you can choose!
Crumb topping:
2 ½ c flour
1 c brown sugar (I like to use Muscovado but any good brown sugar will do)
2 sticks of butter (melted)
1 ½ t cinnamon
Crisp topping:
1 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced
Blood Orange painting by Georgia Reid, Woodside.