I have a tendency to take my favorite fruit of the season and make a galette out of it. This persimmon and thyme galette is the result of that obsession. Like pie, except a bit less perfect and more forgiving!
No matter what you put in a galette, it will probably work out. That’s why I’d consider a galette pie’s messier, more-forgiving cousin. Try to treat it with care, but if things get kinda messed up along the way, it’s fine. The beauty of a galette is that it is YOUR galette and if it looks different from the other galettes out there, that makes it all the more beautiful.
I stand by the fact that persimmons are the best winter fruit, so obviously I bought 20 and used some of them for this galette. The flavors are all the warm flavors you want in winter, with ginger, nutmeg, brown sugar, orange juice, and a healthy dose of thyme, though you can use any herb you have on hand.
The Rundown
1. Make the crust an hour ahead of time. You want the crust to be easy to deal with, which is why it needs to set in the fridge first. I made the crust with equal portions of spelt flour and all-purpose flour. I love spelt flour because it’s a whole grain flour rich in fiber and minerals, but it doesn’t make things as dense as whole wheat flour would. This crust used vegan butter to make it plant-based and it was totally hassle-free. Whatever you do…make sure you use some type of butter. Subbing with oil will not work here.
2. Make the filling! I decided to keep it simple and just combine persimmons with a few other ingredients, but you can make a persimmon jam too if you want. This was lovely on its own though. This filling uses orange juice and orange zest, but you can sub lemon zest and lemon juice for a slightly different flavor profile. The sweetener is brown sugar, but you can also sub coconut sugar.
3. Assemble the galette. Roll out the crust. Pile on the filling, leaving at least an inch of space at the perimeters. Fold the crust over and bake that baby!
Persimmon and Thyme Galette
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup spelt flour sub whole what pastry flour or all purpose flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) vegan butter
- 7-10 tbsp ice cold water add more if necessary
Filling
- 4 persimmons, sliced
- 1 tbsp orange juice sub lemon juice
- 1 tsp orange zest sub lemon zest
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp grated ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Combine flours, sugar, and salt for the crust. Add to a stand mixer bowl or.a food processor and process with cubed butter. Add a few tbsp of cold water at a time to get the dough together.
- The dough should not be sticky and it should be easy to form a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer.
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Slice persimmons and combine with all filling ingredients.
- Take crust out of the fridge, roll it out on a floured surface, and add the filling, leaving ~ 1 inch of empty space at the perimeter. Fold the crust inward. (Optional: wash crust with nondairy milk – I didn't and my crust ended up super crisp.)
- Bake for 35 min at 400 F (until crust is golden brown). Top with almonds, more thyme, and frozen coconut yogurt (as pictured) or your favorite ice cream!
