Fig and Raspberry Galette

I can certainly relate to Eddie Izzard’s joke about pears. Two pears are in a basket on a counter in the kitchen. A person is close by and the pears are whispering to each other about not turning ripe enough to eat. The person checks the pears and then leaves the room. The pears immediately rot.

It is pretty much like that with figs. In order for figs to taste their absolute best, they need to ripen on the tree. If you don’t get them fast the birds eat them. When you buy them at the store often they are already too ripe and by the time you get them home you have to throw half of them away. Or, you get to the store and there are none left because the season is so short.

Photo by: Lucy Alexander

There are so many ways to eat figs. You can just pop them in your mouth whole; don’t eat the stem though, cut them in half and wrap them in prosciutto. The vegetarian version: halve the figs and top with feta and honey. You can grill them and then drizzle the tops with balsamic vinegar. You can cook them with some oil and garlic and toss them with pasta. There are also many fig desserts. One of my current favorites is in a galette. One bite of this galette with sweet figs and the slightly tart raspberries will make you a fan too. This galette won’t last long and I guarantee you won’t throw it away either.

Note: Read the whole recipe before you start. The dough makes enough for two galettes, and it needs to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour. In order to get the correct texture for a galette you will need to roll out the dough and chill it for 30 minutes before you fill it.

Photo by: Lucy Alexander

Photo by: Lucy Alexander