Every weekend, whether at my own dining room table or by anyone else who is hosting a Shabbat meal, there is usually some form of kugel side dish. For those of you who don’t already know, a kugel is a traditional Jewish pudding or casserole, similar to a pie, and can be sweet or savory. If you asked me what were the first recipes that I learned to make on my own, I would have to say corn flake crumb chicken strips, broccoli kugel and cranberry crunch kugel, which are all fairly typical Shabbos dishes and I have been making them for too long! A little while ago, I vowed to try not making any standard kugels anymore and have been making every attempt to serve unique side dishes or even just updated versions of a kugel. This galette is my newest accomplishment and I can’t wait to try it with every flavor I can think of. There will be a cranberry apple crunch galette and a spiced pumpkin galette in my near future.
Crunchy Fig Galette Ingredients
Don’t be intimidated by all of the ingredients! This is a very simple recipe.Â
CRUST
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp margarine
4 Tbsp vegetable shortening
ice water
CRUNCH TOPPING
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
3 Tbsp margarine, melted
FILLING
12 oz fresh figs
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp flour, overflowing
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
dash of salt
zest of one lemon
3 Tbsp apricot preserves, warmed 15 seconds in microwave
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tsp water
I started with the easy crust. In a food processor, I combined the flour, salt and sugar then pulsed in the margarine and shortening until the mixture looked like cornmeal.
I added a small amount of ice water until the dough started to come together then I wrapped it, flattened in to a disk and refrigerated for 30 minutes.
I then prepared the crunch topping, which was very quick and simple. I combined all of the ingredients and set it aside. Done!
In a large bowl, I combined the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and lemon zest.
I cut the stems off of the figs and quartered them. I added the figs to the flour mixture and carefully tossed to coat.
On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, I rolled out the dough in to a 12-inch circle.
I spread the warm apricot preserves over the center of the dough, leaving a 3-inch border. You can use your favorite preserve instead of the apricot, but I happened to have some in my fridge and it worked nicely with the figs. I then added 3/4 of the crunch topping over the preserves.
Starting from the center of the circle, I placed the figs over the preserves and crunch then sprinkled on the remaining crunch.
I folded the dough over the figs and it really had a great rustic look.
I slid the galette with the parchment paper on to a baking pan and brushed the exposed dough with the egg mixture. I baked this beautiful update to a kugel for 45-50 minutes, until the crust was a nice golden brown. If your crust is getting too dark during the baking process, you can cover the border with some foil.
When the sweet fig galette came out of the oven, I sprinkled on some extra cinnamon and nutmeg for garnish. While it can be served warm, I prefer room temperature, which anyone who heats up loads of food for Shabbat lunch can agree will make service a bit easier. So go ahead and turn your favorite kugel in to a delicious galette! You won’t believe how easy it is and how impressed your guests will be when there is no kugel in sight.
