Watermelon Agua Fresca and Popsicles

I've never been a huge fan of watermelon because I think it's too hard to eat.  If it's cut up in slices, I inevitably get it all over my face, and even if it's already cut up into nice cubes, I have a hard time spitting out the seeds (and even "seedless" watermelons have those little white seeds in them!).

Enter the watermelon agua fresca:  all the yumminess of watermelon in drinkable form!  I find that I don't even need to add any water to the blended watermelon because it's diluted enough for me over ice, but you might want to if your watermelon happens to be really sweet.

Like I did with the papaya milk, I decided to try churning the drink and then freezing it in popsicle form.  I took the extra step of mixing in some chopped chocolate chips to look like (edible!) watermelon seeds, but I don't think I added enough to really get the effect I was going for so I doubled the amount below.

Watermelon Agua Fresca and Popsicles
makes 6 drinks or twenty 3 oz. popsicles

8 cups seedless watermelon flesh, cubed
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons honey, plus more for the popsicles
6 tablespoons chocolate chips, coarsely chopped (for the popsicles, optional)

Blend the watermelon, lime juice, and honey in a blender.  Strain through a fine mesh sieve; you should end up with almost 5 cups of liquid.

For the agua fresca, pour over ice, dilute with water as desired, and enjoy!

For the popsicles, add another 2 tablespoons of honey and taste.  Add more, if necessary, until it almost tastes too sweet.  Churn the watermelon juice in an ice cream machine.  When it is mostly frozen (you can stop before it reaches soft serve consistency), stir in the chopped chocolate.  Fill your popsicle molds and freeze.  I used about 1 1/2 cups of liquid to fill six of my 3 oz. popsicle molds.

Next:  Cleveland Cassata Cake (Bonus:  In a Jar!)
Previously:  Low Country Boil
Five Years Ago:  Curried Carrot Soup

Plum, Nectarine, and Peach Galette

I've made all sorts of pies and tarts before, but never attempted to make a galette.  But that's exactly what came to mind when I ended up with 2 plums, 2 nectarines, and a peach in my latest Boston Organics delivery.  I imagined perfect spirals of ombré fruit enclosed by a rustic, sugar-flecked dough.  The ombré part didn't really pan out, but I think the rest turned out okay!

I based my recipe on the nectarine galette posted by Smitten Kitchen, which itself is adapted from Alice Water's apricot tart.  I didn't have any amaretti cookies, but I did have some speculoos cookies leftover from a recent flight, so I took a chance and used those.  I also had no apricot jam (or any other jam) on hand, so the fruit looks a little sad and dried out, but just imagine how lovely it would've been if they were glazed and glistening.

Plum, Nectarine, and Peach Galette (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
serves 6

For the crust:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
6 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:
1 tablespoon ground almonds
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup sugar, divided
1 tablespoon speculoos cookies, pulverized (or 1 extra tablespoon ground almonds plus an extra teaspoon sugar)
1 lb. stone fruit (I used 2 plums, 2 nectarines, and 1 peach)
1 tablespoon butter, mlted
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Apricot jam (optional)

Combined the flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor.  Pulse until the dough resembles coarse cornmeal.  Transfer to a medium bowl and dribble 4 tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture.  Mix until it comes together, adding more ice water if needed, a tablespoon at a time.  Gently knead a few times and then shape into a flat disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.

On a Silpat or parchment paper, roll out the dough into a 14" circle, about 1/8" thick.  Refrigerate for at least another 30 minutes before using.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Place a pizza stone, if you have one, on a lower rack.

Slice the stone fruit into thin slices, about 3/4" thick.  

Toss the ground almonds, flour, one tablespoon of sugar, and the pulverized cookies (or mix of extra ground almonds and sugar) together.  Sprinkle evenly on the dough, leaving a 1 1/2" to 2" border uncoated.

Arrange the fruit slices in concentric circles, leaving the border bare.  Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar evenly over the fruit.

Fold the edges of the dough up and over the fruit, crimping every couple of inches.  Brush the border with the melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.

Bake in the lower third of the oven (preferably on a pizza stone) for about 45 to 50 minutes, until the crust is well browned and the edges are slightly caramelized.  Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the filling 15 minutes before the baking time ends.  As soon as the galette is out of the oven, use a spatula to slide it onto a cooling rack to keep the bottom from getting soggy.  Let cool for 20 minutes.  If you want to glaze the tart, lightly brush the fruit with a little warmed apricot jam.  Serve warm, with ice cream or whipped cream if you like.

This galette keeps at room temperature for at least two days, and even longer in the fridge. The unbaked dough, wrapped in plastic, will keep in the freezer for a few weeks, the fridge for a day or more. Rolled-out dough may be frozen and used the next day.

Next:  Shakshuka with Polenta
Previously:  Orange Mocha Frappuccino!
Four Years Ago:  Bacon Caramel Maple Ice Cream

Flower Pavlovas

I've been holding off on posting about these fruit pavlovas since this summer because I honestly didn't know what to write about them.  They're too pretty not to share though, so I think I'll make this a picture tutorial instead of my normal recipe plus pictures post.

Start off by making the pavlova base, which is basically a meringue with cornstarch added.  You can find a full recipe at The Kitchn.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form

Gradually add the rest of the ingredients and beat until stiff peaks form

Shape and bake

Using a paring knife, cut out a thin slice

Remove the first slice and continue cutting out thin slices...

...until all you have left is the pit

Start layering the slices in a small dish...

...forming smaller, overlapping rings...

...using smaller and smaller slices...

...until you fill it all in

Grab a pavlova base...

...and carefully slide the fruit slices onto it

Tada!

The pavlovas above were made with nectarines, if I recall correctly.  You'll want to use fruits that will be soft enough to shape into the flower pattern.  I think they're prettiest when there's a contrast between the peel and flesh, but here's one I made with kiwi slices that's quite pretty in its own right.

Reminds me of a succulent plant

Next:  Banoffee Pie
Previously:  Salade Indochinoise
Last Year:  Spicy Tuna with Crispy Sushi Rice
Four Years Ago:  Banana Bread Yeasted Waffles
Five Years Ago:  Nian Gao (Mochi Cake)