THYME-SCENTED APPLE GALETTE (for eight to ten)
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For the pastry dough:
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold, unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons cold water
For the filling:
4 medium Gala or Empire apples (about 2 pounds)
¼ cup white wine
1/3 cup sugar
For the glaze:
½ cup white wine
½ cup apple jelly
¼ cup loosely packed fresh thyme sprigs
For the garnish:
Fresh thyme sprigs and 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1. Make the pastry dough. In a bowl stir together the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt. With a pastry blender or your fingertips, blend in butter until mixture resembles a coarse meal.
2. In a small bowl stir together the egg yolk and cold water. Add yolk mixture to flour mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing to incorporate, until mixture forms a dough.
3. On a work surface, smear dough in several forward motions with the heel of your hand to develop gluten in the flour and make the dough easier to work with. Scrape the dough together to form a ball and flatten it to a one-inch-thick disk. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, 30 minutes.
4. Make the filling. Halve and core the apples (do not peel) and cut them crosswise into ¼ inch slices. In a large bowl toss the apples gently with the wine.
5. Preheat the oven to 400*.
6. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to a 15-inch round and transfer it to a large baking sheet. Fold the edge 1 inch all around to form a border.
7. Arrange the apple slices on pastry in overlapping cocentric circles. Brush apple slices and pastry border with the wine remaining in the bowl and sprinkle with sugar.
8. Bake galette 45 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the pastry border is golden. Cool galette on the baking sheet on a rack.
9. Make the glaze. While the galette is cooling, in a small saucepan simmer the wine with the jelly and thyme sprigs until the liquid is reduced by half, about 15 minutes.
10. Remove the thyme with a slotted spoon and brush hot glaze generously over the apple slices. Garnish the galette with the thyme sprigs and leaves
from Gourmet Magazine, November, 1994