Apricot Love

It’s apricot season once again. It seems to me it came early this year but I’m not complaining. I saw them for the first time last week at the farmers market and restrained myself from buying, since when fruit like that is first available it isn’t always the best. I try to wait at least another week to confirm that the availability is not an aberration but in fact signals the onset of the season.

I do so love apricots when they are in season. They are beautiful in color, sexy in form and deliciously and naturally sweet. For me they are also full of memories, reminding me as they do of my mother and the apricot tree in her backyard. I wrote this poem some years ago; her presence is always with me but especially at these times.


My Mothers Apricots

Lately I had time to ponder life and everything
I ask what it all means and then suppose
maybe it all comes down to my mothers apricots
Sometime in June, on my weekly visit she would say to me
The apricots are ripe, come look at the tree
So out the kitchen door in back we’d go
All the way to the corner of the dusty yard
Where the apricot tree lived and we’d walk around it
Admiring the large, overgrown, heavy branches
Drooping with apricots so ripe some had already hit the ground
With some smashed or laid open and bees buzzing around
I could ignore those, there were so many others
Mom batted at the low branches, all she could reach
I’d try for the topmost ones kissed by the sun
Sometimes climbing up ladders or leafy dark branches
In search of elusive perfect apricots
That soft, round honey-fragrant beautiful orange happiness
Which I would take home at the end of the day
Some to have now and some to have later

A week or two would go by and another visit
And another trip to the tree but this time no apricots
Their bright and abundant cycle already concluded
depriving me of that joy and flavor

Time passed, life changed and now
apricots come every spring to my farmers market
Easily obtained, no tree climbing needed
They are orange in color and softly rounded
and frequently fragrant and often beautiful,
Ever optimistic I dig into my wallet to buy a few
My heart ready to receive that essence and joy
living in memory, only to be again reminded
that these are not my mother’s apricots


My mother’s apricots were of the Blenheim or Royal variety. Alas, they’re hard to find these days since they are not as hardy as some of the newer varieties. Once in a while it’s possible to find them, but not usually. The Blenheim are The Royalty of apricots so if you find them, buy them –they are the most flavorful. That said, all the rest are pretty darn good and I don’t hold back because they’re not the Blenheim. And there are more uses to them than providing memories. Another perfect way to enjoy them (other than just splitting and eating of course) is this galette.

A galette is a free form tart with all the elements of a pie like pastry and sugar but less structured and more casual feeling. I think it’s perfect for warm weather and the fleeting season of ripe apricots. I know it’s possible to purchase apricots flown in from afar practically year round, but they will never measure up to the ones picked yesterday that you find in your local farmer’s market or farm stand. Or if you’re lucky, from your mother’s tree. I make this luscious dessert at least once during the season. It epitomizes summer to me.


Apricot Galette

Galette dough
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp sugan
¼ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 /12 sticks)
Unsalted butter, chilled, cut
7 tablespoons ice water

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut tablespoons of the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender , mixing until the dough resembles coarse cornmeal. Cut in the remaining 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of butter with the pastry blender, just until the biggest pieces of butter are the size of large peas – or a little larger. (These bigger pieces of butter in the dough make it flaky).
Dribble the ice water into the flour mixture in several stages, tossing and mixing between additions until the dough just holds together. Keep tossing the mixture until it starts to pull together; it will look rather ropy with some dry patches. Add a little more water if there are more dry patches than ropy parts tossing the mixture until it comes together.
(I have worked out my own shortcut to this by combining all of the ingredients except for the water into a food processor, pulsing until it resembles the coarse cornmeal, and adding the cold water through the top opening until the dough starts pulling away from the sides.
I use a spatula to make sure all the ingredients are combining properly.)
Then continue with the processes.
Divide the dough in half, firmly press each half into a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, pressing down to flatten each ball into a disk. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. (The dough will keep in the freezer for a few weeks. You can use one and keep one for later.)
When you are ready to roll out the dough take one disk from the refrigerator at a time. Let it soften slightly so it is malleable but still cold. Unwrap the dough and press the edges of the disk so there are no cracks. On a lightly floured surface roll out the the disc into a 14” circle about 1/8” thick. Brush off the excess flour from both sides and transfer the dough to a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate at least ½ hour before using.

Makes 20 ounces of dough or enough for 2 open galettes or tarts or one covered tart.

For one apricot galette
Makes one 12 inch tart.
Serves 8

1 ½ lbs of ripe apricots
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
10 ounces of galette dough, rolled into a 14-inch circle and chilled
Remove the prerolled dough from the refrigerator or freezer and place on a buttered or parchment lined baking sheet. Cut the apricots in half (or quarters if they are large) removing the pits. Arrange the fruit, skin side down in concentric circles on the dough, making a single layer of snugly touching apricot pieces and leaving the border bare. Evenly sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over the fruit.
While rotating the tart, fold the border of exposed dough up and over itself at regular intervals, crimping and pushing it up against the outer circle of fruit, creating a containing rim that resembles a length of rope. Pinch off any excess dough. This rim must act as a dam, preventing juices from escaping while cooking, so make sure there are no folds or wrinkles that permit such a breach. Brush the border gently with melted butter and sprinkle it with 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake in the lower third of the over for 45 – 50 minutes until the crust is well browned and its edges are slightly caramelized. As soon as the galette is out of the oven, use a large metal spatula to slide it off the baking sheet or parchment paper and onto a cooling rack. This keeps it from steaming and getting soggy. Let cool for 20 minutes.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream if you like, although I never do since the tart in itself is so spectacular and delicious.