Plum Galette

Andy and the boys spent a couple of days camping over in Chelan, WA, and they brought me home a ton of pluots (plum/apricot mix, heavy on the plum), peaches, apples and tomatoes. Around the same time, I got a new cookbook from the ladies at the Canal House. I got their Canal House summer cookbook. It's as much a feast for the eyes as it is for the stomach, and the first recipe that I saw in the book that I wanted to make was for this plum galette. It's very similar to a free-form tart (basically, that's what it is), and using fruit at the peak of its season just makes it that much better.

Plum Galette
Ingredients:

For the pastry:
1.75 cups AP flour
1 tsp salt
10 tbs cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tbs vegetable shortening
5 tbs ice water
2 tbs heavy cream (for brushing on the pastry)

For the fruit:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbs AP flour
2 lbs plums (or pluots), halved lengthwise and pitted

1. For the pastry, sift together the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the mix resembles coarse corn meal. Add the ice water tablespoon by tablespoon until the dough forms a mass. Remove from the processor, shape into a disc, wrap in plastic and chill in the fridge for about an hour.

2. For the fruit, whisk together the sugar and flour in a bowl. Add the plums and use your hands to mix them into the sugar until they are well coated. Set aside until you are ready to use.

3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the chilled dough on a floured surface into a 12-14-inch round. Roll the pastry around your rolling pin then unfurl it onto a large baking sheet or a cold pizza stone.

4. Starting in the middle, arrange the plums on the pastry in a tight circular pattern to about 3 inches from the edge. Fold the edge over the plums, pleating the dough as you go. Brush the pastry with the heavy cream. Bake until the plums are juicy and the pastry golden 45-55 minutes.

**If you use a pizza stone, put a baking sheet on the rack underneath to catch any juices that may drip over the side.**