RECIPES AND STYLING BY NOMVUSELELO MNCUBE
PHOTOGRAPHS BY DYLAN SWART AND HEMA PATEL
Pear and ginger crumble galette
Ingredients
PEAR FILLING
- 6 fresh pears
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground mixed spice
- pinch ground cloves
- 55g (¼ cup) brown sugar
- 2 tbsp butter
CRUMBLE
- 100g shaved almonds + extra, to serve
- 80g butter, chilled
- 70g brown sugar
- 110g cake flour
- 100g rolled oats
- 8 sheets store-bought filo pastry, defrosted
- 80g butter, melted
- whipped fresh cream, to serve
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a flat baking tray with baking paper.
For the pear filling, peel and core the pears. Cut into bite-size chunks. In a pot over medium heat, combine the pear, lemon juice, ground spices, 55g (¼ cup) brown sugar and 2 tbsp butter, and cook until the pears just begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
For the crumble, in a non-stick saucepan over high heat, toast the shaved almonds until lightly golden, 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from the hot pan and set aside.
In a bowl, combine the 80g chilled butter, 70g brown sugar and flour. Rub together using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the oats and toasted almonds. Stir well.
Cover the filo sheets with a clean, slightly damp kitchen towel to prevent the pastry from drying out as you work. Place 1 sheet of filo on the prepared baking tray. Brush the entire sheet of filo with some of the 80g melted butter.
Place a second sheet of filo on top, rotating it 45° from the first sheet. Brush with melted butter. Repeat with the remaining sheets of filo, rotating each 45° from the one below, and brushing each well with melted butter.
Spoon ½ the crumble mixture into the middle of the filo stack. Use the back of the spoon to spread it evenly into a circle, leaving a good 10cm of filo untouched around the edges. Place the pear mixture over the crumble circle.
Gather up the overhanging filo, scrunching as you go, to form a rough crust around the filling, leaving the top of the galette open. Top the exposed pear mixture with the remaining crumble.
Brush the filo all over with the remaining melted butter.Bake the galette in the preheated oven until the filo is crisp and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Scatter with the extra toasted almonds and serve with whipped cream.