Mini Rhubarb and Raspberry Galettes

From Martha

Yield Makes 8

Ingredients

• Pate Brisee, do not divide into 2 disks
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1 1/2 pounds trimmed rhubarb, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 5 cups)
• 8 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) fresh raspberries
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• Coarse sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Divide dough evenly into 8 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece to a 7-inch round, 1/8 inch thick. Transfer rounds to 2 large parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets (don't use silicon!), arranging several inches apart. (If rounds become too soft to handle, refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.)
2. In a large bowl, toss to combine rhubarb, raspberries, cornstarch, and granulated sugar.
3. Cover each round of dough with a heaping 1/2 cup rhubarb mixture, leaving a 1-inch border. Fold edges over rhubarb filling, leaving an opening in center; gently brush water between folds, and press gently so that folds adhere. Refrigerate or freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush edges of dough with water, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until crusts are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees, and bake until juices bubble and start to run out from center of each galette, 15 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely before serving.

Results:
I got to work on Friday and saw about 10 pounds of free rhubarb to be given away, so I grabbed a bunch and thought I'd make a pie. The problem is, although we COULD eat a whole pie, we probably shouldn't. So then I was trolling the internet this morning to find a recipe for mini-pies, either in a small cast iron skillet or muffin pans or something. I wasn't quite sure. Then I stumbled across this recipe for galettes, which was so perfect because you don't need to risk having the wrong sized pan and risk having to fiddle with cooking time and temperature. Also, it's easy to halve the recipe, and then you only have to share the equivalent of a half a pie between two people.

The flavors of this tart are right on. Really good and sour, but also sweet. Excellent. But here are some "do as I say, not as I do" tips. After forming the tarts and refrigerating (end of step 3), I left them in the fridge for a few hours instead of 30 minutes. This was bad because it gave the fruit more time to masticate in the sugar and juice was already running from them by the time I got around to cooking.  Maybe freezing would keep them longer if you're not ready for baking? I'm not sure. Either way, make sure you either use a rimmed baking sheet or engineer some sort of tin foil juice catcher under your baking sheet because they'll probably leak a lot of juice which will then burn on the bottom of your oven and smell really bad.

After they were done baking, I had trouble picking them up with even a really big spatula to move to the baking sheet (possibly because the bottom crust was soaked through with juice, or possibly because I rolled the crusts too thin). I'm hoping the crust will harden up as they cool and won't stick too much to the parchment paper. Also, if you just can't wait for them to cool, and you happen to break part of a tart off as you move it to the cooling racks, remember before you gobble it up that hot sugary filling is REALLY HOT, even if the crust is already cool. Also, be sure to wash any and all cooking implements that come into contact with the hot sugary filling IMMEDIATELY before the sugar cools, or you're going to have issues. And the sugar cools fast.