Seasonal produce is where it’s at for me. I visited an orchard a couple of weeks ago and tasted fruit straight off the tree, at the prime of the season, pesticide free and full of natural sweetness and flavour. I ate loads of fruit on the tour and took a couple of kilo’s home with me to enjoy with the family. My daughter Matilda came on the tour and enjoyed eating and picking her own fruit. It was such a great way to teach her how fruit grows and how good fruit should taste. Fruit that is available in supermarkets is sometimes sprayed with chemicals up to twenty times before it hits the shelves. That shocked me and that’s why I wash my fruit in a mix of white vinegar and water before it’s eaten, to kill any chemicals left on the fruit.
I wanted to find a recipe that really showcases the natural sweetness of the fruit and I came upon a Stone Fruit Galette by Donna Hay. I cook a lot of Donna Hay recipes and this one, like all the others, is in my opinion, faultless. Homemade pastry, beautiful stone fruit, a drizzle of honey served with a dollop of cream. So good.
Coconut and Blistered Stone Fruit Tart
Print RecipeIngredients
- ¼ cup (20g) desiccated coconut
- 1kg mixed stone fruit+, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup (75g) caster (superfine) sugar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons raw sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- PASTRY
- 3 cups (450g) plain (all-purpose) flour
- ½ cup (110g) caster (superfine) sugar
- 125g cold unsalted butter, chopped
- 75g cold lard, chopped (see note)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup (125ml) iced water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the pastry, place the flour and sugar in a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the butter and lard and, using your fingertips, rub into the flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the vinegar, water and vanilla and, using a butter knife, bring the mixture together to form a rough dough.
Lightly knead to bring the dough together. Shape into a rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.
Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Roll the pastry between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper to a 5mm-thick 40cm x 30cm rectangle. Place on a large lightly greased baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.
Spread the base with the coconut, leaving a 4cm border. Top the coconut with the fruit, fold over the edges, pressing lightly to seal, and sprinkle the fruit with the caster sugar.
Brush the edge with the egg and sprinkle with the raw sugar. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until firm.
Cook for 30 minutes. Drizzle with the honey and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the fruit is bubbling. Set aside for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 8–10.
Notes
Recipe credit to Donna Hay. I used plums, white and yellow peaches, and white and yellow nectarines. Lard is a common addition to pastry dough, as it has a higher melting point than butter so will help the pastry keep its shape when cooking. Using a combination of butter and lard gives the pastry a rich, sweet flavour and a nice crisp crust. Find lard in the chilled section of the supermarket.
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