Friends For Lunch

After our last visitors and a different dessert every night, James declared a sweets free zone. That lasted until today. Our friends Denis and Alli came by for lunch and after all what's Sunday lunch without dessert? Besides we have a fridge full of apples (I better get started on this year's jelly) and a couple lonely plums in need of a home. Keeping with the promise of a "simple lunch" I didn't want anything to fussy or have too many pots to clean so I opted for this simple gallette based on a recipe from Chez Panisse.
I mixed 1 cup of flour, a tsp of sugar, a pinch of salt, 5 TB of butter, and 1 TB of lard (I happen to have a jar in the fridge and I can't deny it makes for a flaky, easy to roll crust) in the food processor until the butter was still about the size of peas (I added and pulsed the butter in two batches so some were as big as lima beans). I poured in 1/4 cold water and gave a quick pulse then kneaded the dough together 2 or 3 times on the counter. The wrapped dough cooled in the fridge overnight (an hour would have been enough).
When it came time to assemble my tart I rolled the dough (on a floured surface) to about a 14" circle. Leaving a 2" border I sprinkled the crust with slivered almonds and then layered on thin slices of plums and peeled apples. I brushed the fruit with 3 TB of melted butter and about 2 TB of sugar then folded the crust around the fruit, crimping as I went. I brushed some butter on the folded crust and gave it a sprinkle of sugar as well and scattered some more almonds over the fruit.
After 50 minutes at 400º we had a flaky crisp tart ready for lunch. After cooling a bit on a wire rack I brushed 1TB of warmed honey over fruit and crust for a little sweetness and shine.
Perfect for lunch -- even better for breakfast.