Mini Strawberry Galettes

With the lead up to the release of my book, I’m preparing my brain for a world that is a bit of stranger to me – the media. Amongst the anxiety of it all, I found myself having to answer interview questions for an upcoming magazine article (cute!). True to my nature I put a fair bit of thought and time into the interview, for the fear of being misunderstood is quite the motivator for me.

Anyway, the questions were great, and fairly easy to answer, but one in particular had me stumped – “what are some of your favourite moments sharing and preparing food for your friends?”. It should have been easy, cooking for my family and friends has been a major part of my life for a really long time. But every memory that filled my brain was when others had cooked for me! It got me thinking, how powerful food can be. How the simple gesture of preparing food for somebody can have a lasting impact. Sure, it’s delicious, but beyond that it really demonstrates that you care for someone, that they are in your thoughts. Little things like inviting friends over for dinner, dropping a cake around to cheer someone up, or a batch of veggie lasagne when a mate is feeling snowed under. I have done this numerous times, but luckily for me have been on receiving end too. And believe me, these are the memories that stay.

Mini Strawberry Galettes

for the dough

• 1 ⅓ cups plain flour
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 large egg
• 120g butter, cut into big pieces
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

for the filling

• 500g fresh strawberries
• ½ cup caster sugar
• pinch of salt
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• double cream, to serve

1. Place all the dough ingredients except for the egg into a food processor with a steel blade. Pulse until the mixture resembles very coarse wet sand. Add the egg and pulse again, just until the mixture binds together. You might need to add a tablespoon of water if the mixture is looking a bit dry. Remove, flatten into a disk shape and wrap in cling film. Leave in the fridge to rest for 2 hours (or up to 3 days).
2. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.
3. Hull strawberries and cut into halves or quarters if large. Place them into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, salt, and cornstarch and toss together with your hands.
4. Remove pastry from fridge and divide into 6 balls. Roll each of these balls into a flat disk and place on 2 baking trays lined with baking paper.
5. Divide strawberry mixture into 6 piles in the centre of each party round. Fold the pastry up and crimp together to hold. These are supposed to be pretty rustic so no need to be a perfectionist about it.
6. Place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes, or until pastry is golden.
7. Remove and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with giant dollops of double cream.