No. 04East Coast · Dessert

Strawberry Rhubarb Galette with Goat Cheese & Walnuts

Name: Strawberry Rhubarb Galette with Goat Cheese & Walnuts
Yield: 6–8
Cuisine: East Coast
Ingredients: 1 sheet store-bought all-butter puff pastry, thawed (you could make your own; I won't); 2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved; 1½ cups rhubarb, sliced ½ inch thick; ⅓ cup sugar; 1–2 tsp cornstarch; 1 tsp vanilla; Zest of 1 orange (or lemon); Pinch of salt; 3 oz soft goat cheese; 2 tbsp honey, plus more to finish; ¼ cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped; 2 tbsp almond flour or finely chopped walnuts (to absorb juices); 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash); 2 tbsp turbinado or coarse sugar (for the edges); Fresh thyme or mint, to garnish; Drizzle of honey or maple syrup after baking

Most people look at rhubarb and see an oversized weed. I see the best week of spring. As a kid I'd pull it straight out of the ground on my family's farm and eat it raw, no sugar, like a feral child. Now we have a big crop at the cottage, and in the city, friends drop off bunches from their yards because they know I'll actually use it. A lot of it ends up here.

Vegetarian Jump to recipe

Baked strawberry rhubarb galette with a golden, flaky puff pastry crust — Shot on my phone.No. 04

Serves: 6–8
Total: 1 hr
Hands-on: 20 min
Season: Spring / Summer

Method

Heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Prep the fruit. Toss the strawberries and rhubarb with the sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, orange zest, and salt. Let sit 10 minutes while you get everything else ready. The fruit will release some juice and the cornstarch will keep it from flooding the pastry.
Prep the base. In a small bowl, stir the goat cheese until smooth and spreadable. Unroll or unfold the puff pastry onto the prepared baking sheet.
Build the layers. Scatter the almond flour or finely chopped walnuts over the centre of the pastry, leaving a 2-inch border. This layer absorbs the fruit juices and keeps the base from going soggy. Spread the goat cheese on top. Drizzle with honey. Scatter the toasted walnuts over the cheese.
Add the fruit. Pile the fruit mixture over the goat cheese in an even layer.
Fold the edges. Fold the border up and over the fruit, pleating as you go. Rustic and imperfect is the look you want here. Press the folds gently so they hold.
Finish and bake. Brush the pastry edges with egg wash and sprinkle generously with coarse sugar. Bake 35–40 minutes until the pastry is deeply golden, the fruit is bubbling, and the edges are caramelized.
Finish. Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting. Drizzle with honey or maple syrup, scatter a few fresh thyme or mint leaves, and serve warm.

A hand holding a big bunch of thin, deep pink early rhubarb with leaves — Early rhubarb: thin, pink, tender.No. 04

Thicker rhubarb stalks trimmed on the counter beside a measuring cup of chopped rhubarb — Later in the season: thicker stalks, same chop.No. 04

Chopped rhubarb vacuum sealed in a bag for the freezer — Sealed and frozen. Galette season, extended.No. 04

From my kitchen

Any fruit works. Peaches, plums, blueberries, apples in the fall. Keep it to about 3½ cups of fruit and adjust the sugar to how tart it is.
Freeze the rhubarb. Wash it, chop it and freeze it flat in bags, and you can make this all winter long. My freezer always has several bags for when I need a taste of summer.
Puff pastry. Can you make it from scratch? Sure. Can you also churn your own butter? Also yes. Store-bought all-butter puff is excellent and nobody has time for that.
The almond flour layer: Don’t skip this. It’s the difference between a crisp base and a soggy one. Finely chopped walnuts, crushed graham crackers, or even a spoonful of jam all work the same way.
The goat cheese: Honey-drizzled goat cheese under the fruit is what makes people ask for the recipe. It melts into something creamy and tangy and slightly sweet and it’s entirely correct.
On the cornstarch: Rhubarb releases a lot of juice. The cornstarch thickens it into a glossy sauce instead of a soggy puddle. Don’t skip it.
The sugar on the edges: Turbinado or raw sugar. It stays crunchy through the bake and gives you that satisfying snap when you cut through the crust.
Serve warm: This is best about 20 minutes out of the oven. A scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside is not wrong.
Freeze some for winter. Rhubarb freezes beautifully. I chop it and vacuum seal it in bags, so there's galette in January too.