Local larder: Apple, Pear and Miso Galette

As part of our ongoing series of winter lockdown recipes, local Cordon-bleu trained pastry Tamsin Robinson has created a recipe for an apple and pear galette, with a miso twist.

Was she inspired by local Cockney rhyming slang maybe? Like her previous chocolate fondant entry, all of her ingredients can be found at a local corner shop.

Although the ‘miso’ aspect of Robinson’s recipe is an exotic addition, local residents can find this paste in Whole Fresh on the Roman. ‘If you do not have miso, you can add a pinch of sea salt instead,’ says Robinson.

‘Similar to apple pie, my rustic apple, pear and miso galette is simple to make and sure to satisfy that hot pudding craving. The hint of miso balances out the sweetness and adds extra depth of flavour.’

Ingredients

Makes for four

Pastry
200g plain flour
Pinch of salt
120g unsalted butter
15g caster sugar
50ml cold water

Filling and Topping

2 medium pears (such as Conference)
1 large Bramley cooking apple (or you could use 2 Granny Smiths)
30g dark brown sugar
30g unsalted butter
1 heaped tsp white miso paste
A small handful of plain flour
1 egg, beaten
A small handful of demerara sugar

Method

1) First make the pastry. Rub together the flour, butter, sugar and salt in a large bowl until the butter breaks down into smaller chunks and the mixture begins to just resemble breadcrumbs. It’s great if there are larger chunks of butter dotted about, as this adds to the rustic charm of the pastry.

2) Add the water, and squeeze everything together to form a dough.

3) Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 mins.

4) Preheat your oven to 190°C.

5) For the filling, peel the apples and pears. Chop into bites-sized chunks, and place in a large bowl.

6) Melt together the dark sugar, butter and miso paste. Pour this over the apples and pears and mix well.

7) To assemble, roll the chilled dough into a large circular shape (roughly the size of a dinner plate). Place this on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.

8) Scatter a handful of flour over the dough, and pile on the fruit filling in the middle. Make sure to leave a 5cm gap between the fruit and the edge of the dough.

9) Fold the edges of dough inward (up and over the fruit). There is no need to be precise – allow the dough to overlap naturally, as this creates the classic free-form galette shape. If you notice a tear, either squeeze it back together or rip off a little dough from elsewhere and use it to patch up the hole. Again, all adds to the rustic look!

10) Brush the pastry with some beaten egg, then sprinkle demerara sugar over the whole galette.

11) Bake for 45mins at 190°C, then turn the temperature down to 150°C and bake for a further 10-15 mins. If the fruit is starting to get very brown after 45 mins, cover it with foil for the remaining baking time to prevent over-caramelisation aka. Burning.

12) Remove from the oven, leave to rest on the tray for a few minutes before serving. I recommend serving with vanilla ice-cream or custard!

The galette is best eaten warm from the oven, but will still taste great after a couple of days.

Hungry for more? Why not check out our cheese scone recipe