Gosh we love blueberries. Not only are they good for you, they work sweet or savory, and with breakfast, brunch, dessert and more. Here they work brilliantly in a savory galette and a glass of Rosé from the Loire Valley.
It’s hard for me to resist a rather large container of blueberries. The heat broke last weekend here in Bordeaux, meaning the oven could be used. That might sound strange but when you don’t have air conditioning and the temperature reaches above 100 degrees (38C) it heats things up. To celebrate, I bought that container and made a savory galette.
Simple ingredients equal big flavor, step one.
Savory you say? Thinking about the wine I wanted to open immediately sealed that decision!
Just last week I tasted and wrote about three wines from Biodynamic Loire Valley producer Thierry Michon at Domaine Saint Nicolas in the newer Fiefs Vendéens appellation. I used my Coravin thus had wine left and the rosé was standing by nicely chilled.
Domaine Saint Nicolas makes this bright rosé with Gamay, Négrette, Grolleau Gris and Pinot Noir.
Blueberries and goat cheese weren’t my idea but that of a Seattle chef I met. Creative simplicity and use of fresh ingredients that stand on their own- that’s what this about. I make several of these each year not only with blueberries.
Notes on Making this Galette
I adapted a favorite dough recipe from my friend Jamie Schler at Hotel Diderot in Chinon in the Loire. If you are planning a future Loire trip, Chinon is a super, central location for a base, and Hotel Diderot is exquisite. Jamie is a fantastic cook, baker, jam maker and author. It’s worth checking out her website and for orange lovers, her cookbook Orange Appeal is also fantastic.
Firstly, I made adjustments to the dough, omitting the sugar and lemon zest. To it I added minced fresh thyme. I usually add an herb to the dough whether making a sweet or savory item. It gives a distinct flavor lift. Secondly, blueberries are actually fairly acidic, especially the smaller berries which are also less sweet, so I add a little sugar to them instead. And thirdly, in the photo below you will see I dotted the top with goat cheese. What you don’t see is I also tucked a fair amount into the crust before I flipped it over on top of the blueberries.
While sky is the limit as far as goat cheese types, I like to use the cylindrical shapped Crottin de Chavignol from Sancerre, France. With this cheese another option is to slice one into smaller disks then divide on top versus my method of breaking them. It’s personal preference.
Regarding the crust, this time I didn’t brush it with egg wash before baking because I didn’t have any eggs. This makes the crust shiny golden brown. Since the galette was for personal consumption it worked fine and was delicious.
Now go off, grab yourself some blueberries and make this super easy recipe. Don’t forget the wine!
- Dough
- 2 cups (250 grams) flour (I used T80, which is light whole wheat)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (a pinch)
- 10 tablespoons (5 ounces/145 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- ¼ cup (60 ml) + 2 tablespoons (30 ml) very cold water
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Filling
- 3 - 4 cups blueberries
- 2 tablespoons sugar (30 g) (This takes the potential acidic bit off)
- Juice from ½ of a lemon
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- about ½ cup goat cheese (my favorite is Crottin de Chavignol)
- 1 egg
- Raw sugar
- In a bowl, combine blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and salt. Add cornstarch and toss to coat evenly.
- Prepare the Dough
- Place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the cubes of butter and toss to coat with the dry ingredients. Using only your fingertips, rub the flour and butter together until it resembles damp sand and there are no more large butter lumps.
- With a fork, stir in the water combined with the lemon juice until a ruff dough forms.
- Scrape the dough onto a floured work surface and using the heel of one hand, smear the dough little by little away from you in quick, hard strokes in order to make sure that all of the butter is blended in well. Scrape it together once again and knead briefly and quickly, adding more flour if the dough is wet and sticky, until the dough is smooth, homogeneous and soft but no longer sticky.
- Form into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes until firm enough to roll out without sticking to the rolling pin.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the unwrapped dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a circular shape about about 15 inches (38 cm) in diameter. Lift and rotate the dough, a quarter turn each time, as you roll, flouring underneath it to prevent sticking. Trim the excess dough around the edges to make a 14-inch (35 cm) round. Carefully transfer dough to the baking sheet (it’s ok if the dough hangs over the edges).
- Pile blueberries in the center of the dough, leaving about a 1.5-inch (3.8 cm) border. Cut the goat cheese into thin rounds (the thickness of your pinky fingernail) then either break up and distribute over the galette or place rounds as you please on top. I like to put some all around the edge overlapping where the berries end and where you will flip the dough.
- Flip the dough edge up over the blueberries starting at the 12 o’clock position in a clockwise fashion until all the dough is folded over.
- Optional- brush the dough with egg wash (one egg beat with 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of water)
- Bake for 40-50 minutes. Check galette at 40 minutes- you may have to bake it a little longer depending on your oven.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Oh that sounds delicious! I make a goat cheese based lemon curd cheesecake with blueberries which I love but I really like the idea of making it savory. I wonder if this would work with other fruit? Blueberries cost about as much as gold does in Turkey.
Dang, that’s too bad! Blackberries work and also nectarines, apricots, peaches and plums. You just don’t want to get fruit that is too super juicy ripe. With any of these, I taste the fruit to see how sweet it is then either add that little bit of sugar or not. Your goat cheese based cheese cake sounds super.
Wow! Beautiful and delicious. I love the idea of a savory blueberry tart – especially if you can get your hands on perfectly ripe, fresh fruit. Filing this suggestion away for a day when I find such a bounty!
Thanks Lauren! Since my sweet tooth loves to take over, I’m digging fruit in a savory way.Good luck finding a bounty ;-D
Blueberry season is winding down in Oregon, but I can still get some to make this galette—looks delicious!!
Please share when you do Karen, would love to know how it goes!
This sounds delicious! I attempted a Galette of blackberries and strawberries earlier this week. My pastry dough was terrible! I will have to look at the dough recipe you referenced! I also love the idea of adding Goat Cheese to the top and herbs to the dough!
Pairing with a Rose sounds perfect! I bet mine would have been brilliant with GSM rose!
Thanks Robin! Took me several tries to get into a pastry dough groove. Also having a good base recipe helps, and weighing ingredients. Good luck… 100% agree with your berry choice and a GSM rosé!
I’m not a dessert person as I’m definitely savory over sweet so this sounds like the perfect compromise! Love your pairing suggestions and I think i’ll leave the recipe somewhere obvious for Chris lol…
You are very lucky Chris likes to create in the kitchen! One thing to note about blueberries- although they do contain sugar (riper = more) they’re quite acidic thus it’s easy to make this savory.
This looks delicious! Never thought about making something like this with blueberries, can’t wait to try it. I would probably use just a creamy goat cheese, like the cylinders you can buy at Trader Joe’s. Thanks and great photos!
Julie- Creamy goat cheese works just fine. Good luck!
Gosh, I hadn’t thought to pair a blueberry galette with rose, but it look SO unbelievably scrumptious!! And biodynamic too!
It works well Deanna. This especially because the blueberries were not super ripe and the rosé has a bright acidity. The goat cheese and buttery crust mellowed them both a bit.