Cherry & Tahini Galette

Cherry and sesame is not a combination you see a lot of. To be honest, I have never seen this combination before until I read one of Allison Roman's cookbooks.

Of course her recipe was not paleo friendly (no shade, Allison Roman is an amazing chef) and there was nothing on the market that had these flavours AND was paleo so once again this sent me to my kitchen to start developing a recipe so I could try this combination of flavours.

To my surprise, I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

If galette is a new term for you, fret not! A galette is a term used in french cuisine to describe various types of flat round desserts that are made with pastry dough. Basically it is an open pie made with endless amount of filling options. I love galettes because they have a rustic look and do not have to look perfect to be admired.

This recipe has all the components that make a dessert irresistible. The sweetness of the cherries work so well with the saltiness of the tahini and the flaky crust that wraps it all together is magic.

On top of tasting delicious, it is free from grains, gluten, dairy, eggs, refined-sugar, soy and legumes with different options to add dairy and eggs if you are not a vegan. This will for sure be a crowd pleasure no matter who you have over.

Believe me, you and your guests will keep coming back for more!

My recipe makes only 4 galette because I will end up eating all of them but feel free to double the batch to make 8 galettes or you can even make one big galette (baking time might vary for the big galette).

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cherry & tahini galettes

makes 4 galettes

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INGREDIENTS

Dough

3/4 cup cassava flour (I use Otto's cassava)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup palm shortening, butter, or lard, plus extra for pastry wash (alternatively you can use one whisked egg)

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup ice cold water

Filling

296 grams fresh pitted cherries (you can use frozen but make sure you defrost them and drain the liquid)

1/2 cup coconut sugar

3 tablespoon tapioca starch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 tablespoons tahini

Sesame seed, for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To make the crust, add cassava flour and salt into a food processor. Cut the 1/3 cup of palm shortening into smaller pieces and place on the flour around the bowl. Pulse the mixture together 4-5 times. Next add the cold water and apple cider vinegar. Pulse just until the ingredients come together to create a dough. Wrap the dough and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour. The dough can sit in the fridge for up to 3 days.

2. To make the filling, add the cherries, coconut sugar, tapioca starch, salt, and vanilla extract to a bowl and stir with a spoon or use your hands to combine everything together. Make sure the cherries are evenly coated with coconut sugar and tapioca starch.

3. Preheat your oven to 180f/375C.

4. Once the dough has set, take it out of the fridge and portion it into 4 equal size balls. Roll each ball out to a thickness of about 2-3 mm. It doesn't have to be exact but just make sure it is not too thin that you can see through the pastry and that it has an even thickness all around.

5. Add a tablespoon of tahini to the bottom of each galette, spreading evenly and leaving a gap near the outside of the galette.

6. Add equal amounts of cherry filling into each galettes onto of the tahini, leaving a gap near the edge.

7. It's time to form each galette. To make this set a little easier, I cut out square pieces of parchment paper that are a little bigger than the galettes. Using the parchment paper, I go around each galette folding a little bit of dough over, bit by bit until I go all around the galette.

8. To make an egg wash, I used one egg and whisked it but you can take a bit of palm shortening and melt it down. Either way, take a pastry brush and brush your pastry wash on the outside of the galettes and then sprinkle with sesame seeds.

9. Once all 4 of your galettes are formed place on a baking sheet with parchment paper. and bake for 22 - 30 minutes. Depending on your oven or how big your galettes are the timing will vary. You are looking for golden edges around you galettes and the middle of the pastry (underneath the filling) to be cooked.

10. Take out of the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes. Baked fruit is extremely hot so be careful not to dig in right away.