Saturday, April 03, 2010

Fresh Fig and Pistachio Galette

I have the pleasure of hosting Weekend Herb Blogging and this week I'm taking a closer look at fresh Pistachio


fresh pistachio© by Haalo


Hard to believe but I last wrote about fresh pistachio way back in March 2007 so more than enough time has passed for me to revisit this subject.

Fresh pistachios should be treated as you would a berry - they are sensitive to temperature and quite perishable. It's important to use them quickly. In the earlier post I dealt on the specifics of extracting the kernel and this photo just illustrates the pistachio at various stages of the process.


fresh pistachio© by Haalo


The skin you see in the first photo is very easy to remove - it's slightly moist and quite thick. Underneath is a harder tan coloured casing, through the split you can see that the pistachio are protected by a rose coloured skin, which is soft and damp and depending on the freshness of the nut, can be a little more difficult to remove. Be gentle as the pistachio is delicate and nails can easily rip into the flesh.

Before I move onto the dish I've made, I would like to draw your attention to the UK Digital Economy Bill and in particular, Clause 43


stop43


If you take photos and place them online, this does affect you - this isn't just an issue for bloggers or photographers.

Let me quote from the British Institute of Professional Photography
the Bill allows any creative work, including photography, to be open to gain by a third party if the creator cannot be found or identified or if the creators’ details can be deliberately removed
This Bill takes away your right to decide how and if your work is used. The government decides how much your work is worth, not you.

I don't ask that you take my word on this, I ask that you visit the source at www.stop43.org.uk and find out the details for yourself.

It may seem that I'm going on about this but when rights are being stripped away from people, this is exactly the time we need to rise and say no.

The following groups are standing as one against this bill
Association of Photographers, British Institute of Professional Photography, the British Press Photographers' Association, Copyright Action, Editorial Photographers United Kingdom & Ireland, Photographers' Agents London and Pro-Imaging

I hope that you will join them.

With that said, it's back to the recipe.

There's an interesting theory on food, that ingredients that are grown together, make excellent matches when you partner them in a dish. Seems logical enough to me. So for this dish I've teemed pistachios with figs as they are grown in similar areas and are in season at the same time. With these two ingredients and some delicious short shortcrust, I present my fig and pistachio galette.


Fig and Pistachio Galette© by Haalo




Fig and Pistachio Galette
[Makes 1 small Galette, enough for 4]

½ portion sweet shortcrust pastry
6-8 fresh figs, depending on size, cut into quarters
fresh pistachios, cut into slivers (use dried in fresh aren't in season)
almond meal
milk
raw caster sugar


Roll the pastry out to form a rough circle shape - no need to be perfect, an uneven edge makes it look a lot more interesting.

Trace a circle in the centre of the rolled pastry - leave at least an inch border, this edge has to fold over your filling to partial encase it.

Sprinkle almond meal over the traced circle - this will stop the bottom of your pastry becoming soggy as it cooks.

Scatter over with a few slivered pistachios and then follow with the quartered figs.


Fig and Pistachio Galette© by Haalo


Sprinkle more slivered pistachios over the figs and then fold the pastry edge over the fruit.


Fig and Pistachio Galette© by Haalo


Brush the pastry with milk and then sprinkle with raw caster sugar. Bake in a preheated 160°C oven until golden and cooked through - should take about 30 minutes.

Let it cool slightly before transferring the Galette to your serving plate - finish off with a dusting of icing sugar.


Fig and Pistachio Galette© by Haalo


Serve with thick cream or ice-cream or try thick yoghurt spiked with orange blossom water to give it a middle eastern feel.

8 comments

  1. I live in London and was telling my husband about this bill the other day (I've been writing letters about it to every MP I can think of for weeks) and he said that the UK Govt (I'm not British but he is) has been trying to find a way to make money off the web for years. This is obviously the latest thing they've come up with and a total outrage.
    Aside from that, fresh pistachios are a thing of the Gods and your galette looks wonderful.

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  2. Beautiful post...I love the idea that ingredients "grown together" make good partners in a dish! I'm amazed with those fresh pistachio nuts. It seems that you can just get hold of the most wonderful fresh ingredients (either here it's not as easy...or I'm doing something wrong!:-)
    About the Bill, first news to me. Thanks for the info, I will look into it. But as I read it my jaw fell apart! I cannot believe the idea that people could take advantage of other's work so easily!Will see what's on our hand to try to avoid it!

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  3. I have never seen fresh Pistachios. They look wonderful. I bet this galette is the bomb, figs and pistachios are awesome.

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  4. do join www.ozbloggers.com and ping every time you blog a topic..

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  5. gorgeous galette -wish I had seen this with my fresh figs this week -

    and thanks or the info on the UK bill - too scary to think that this can be law

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  6. I have never seen fresh pistachio: after reading your post, I so wish I could. I love figs and galettes too: they lend themselves to creative pairings, both sweet and savory.

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  7. Oh how I wish fresh figs were in season here! And fresh pistachios! This looks delicious. A great marriage of flavors.

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