Nordic Wild Berry and Apple Rye Galette
Homemade galettes are a perfect opportunity to embrace imperfection while loading up on seasonally appropriate, wild foraged, healthy nutrients.
I’m currently living in Finland where apples, wild blueberries and wild lingonberries grow abundantly, so I thought making a galette would be a good way to combine all of the health benefits and vibrant flavour of these regional late summer fruits with supportive codes for my current latitude. Here, nature says: load up on wild blueberries and lingonberries this summer to store antioxidants throughout the winter!
The more I thought about it during my stay here, the more frustrated and disappointed I became that organic/wild lingonberries aren’t easily accessible in Canada unless you go for the dreadfully processed version, the packaged and shipped lingonberry jam or juice, at the local IKEA store. Lingonberries are widely available across most grocery and convenience stores in the Nordics, so I’ve been making it a goal to load up on them, and ideally forage them while I’m here. I swear my latent hunter-gatherer instincts have awakened by foraging in the wilds.
Galettes are a perfect opportunity to embrace imperfection, and way easier to make than a pie with all the flavour of one. By making your own, you get to enjoy a tasty, fresh baked treat while ensuring you use ingredients that actually support your health.
Ingredients: Pastry (makes 4 small galettes, store extra dough in the freezer for future use)
125 g or (1 1/4 cups) organic whole wheat flour (you’ll find this as Täysjyvävehnäjauho)
75 g (3/4 cup) organic rye flour (you’ll find this as Ruisjauho)
1 tsp sea salt
75 g organic butter, chopped (you’ll find this as Voi)
75 g full fat organic skyr/Turkish yogurt (grass-fed doesn’t seem to exist here in Finland, so opt for luomu/organic when possible)
splash of spring water, if needed
*Instead of this, you could use a gluten-free crust recipe that works for you, such as an almond crust, or even include a pasture-raised, corn/soy-free egg instead of using butter.
Ingredients: Filling (makes 2 galettes)
Berry picking in the forest near Helsinki = a happy microbiome.
1 organic red apple, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup wild blueberries and/or lingonberries (or whatever fits into your galettes)
1/4 cup organic butter
1 tbsp organic maple syrup or birch sap
1 tsp fresh organic ginger, grated or finely chopped
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 F, and line a baking tray with parchment paper, unbleached if possible. Make the pastry. Mix the flours and salt, then add the butter and mash it up with your hands until combined and damp. Add the skyr/yogurt, then knead and mix. Add some spring water to help it stick if necessary, or extra dry flour if it gets too watery. Set aside in the fridge for at least 1 hour to get it chilled with a better texture for rolling.
Prepare your filling. In a small saucepan, melt down the butter with the maple syrup and ginger. Remove from heat and set aside. You could stew your apples and berries in the butter sauce for a few minutes to get them softened if you’d like, or simply arrange the fruit in the galette and pour the butter sauce over the fruit afterward, depending on your mood.
Separate the dough into chunks, one for each galette you’d like to make. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a floured surface. Add more dry flour to keep it from sticking, if needed. Transfer the flat dough to a parchment paper lined baking tray. Make sure it’s exactly where you want to bake your galette, as it’ll be hard to move once you wrap up your galette.
Arrange the apples in the center of the galette, and top with the berries. If there are pockets of space around the apples, fill them up with berries!
Wrap up the sides of the galette as shown. The more imperfect, the more character it’ll have. Pour the butter sauce over the fruit and into the empty spaces.
Repeat steps 3 to 5 to make the other galette, and place it beside the first galette. I only made 2 galettes, so I only used 2 chunks of the dough.
Slide the tray into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes. Enjoy!
Tips:
Store any dough you’re not using in the freezer for future galettes or other recipes. Your future self will thank you.
