Pie in the Park, Round 3

There's something to be said for eating a lot of pie among friends in a beautiful park on a summer afternoon. And that's just what a bunch of Brooklyn bakers did this past Sunday as they celebrated the third annual Pie in the Park, an event organized by the very stylish and pie-savvy Lauren Cucinotta to raise money for Hot Bread Kitchen, an NY-based nonprofit bakery that employs immigrant women who bake artisanal breads from around the world.

Winners of the pie-baking contest included miniature basil-and-lemon curd pie pops on sticks (best presentation) and a candied bacon and dates pie topped with candied bacon ice cream (which captured the top prize). I wasn't able to attend, but judging from the fabulous photos, I'd put my money on the fig and lavender goat cheese galette made by Meghan Currier, who was kind enough to provide the recipe below.

Fig and Lavender Goat Cheese Galettes
Makes four 7" galettes

I made one giant galette from this recipe. You can use any type of fig you like and mix your own lavender goat cheese if you don't have access to pre-made (I made my own).

Dough
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
7 tablespoons ice water

Filling
1 1/2 pounds figs
8 ounces lavender goat cheese, softened*
1 tablespoon honey, plus more for drizzling
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/8 teaspoon dried lavender buds

1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon sugar

To make dough
Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut 4 tablespoons
butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender, mixing until
dough resembles coarse cornmeal. Cut in remaining 8 tablespoons butter
with pastry blender, just until the biggest pieces of butter are the
size of large peas.

Dribble 7 tablespoons ice water into the flour mixture in several
stages, gently tossing and mixing with your hands between additions,
until the dough just holds together. Do not pinch or squeeze the dough
together or you will overwork it, making it tough. Keeping tossing the
mixture until it starts to pull together. If it looks like there are
more dry patches than ropy parts, add another tablespoon of water and
toss until it comes together. Divide the dough into four pieces,
firmly press each piece into a ball and flatten into a 3-inch disk,
and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes
before rolling out.

To roll out the dough, take one disk from the refrigerator at a time.
Let it soften slightly so that it is malleable but still cold. Unwrap
the dough and press the edges of the disk so that there are no cracks.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the disk into a circle about
1/8-inch thick. Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet
and refrigerate at least 1/2 hour before using.

To make galettes

Preheat oven to 400F.

Trim stems from figs and quarter them lengthwise; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine goat cheese and one tablespoon honey.

Remove rolled-out dough from the refrigerator. Spread a fourth of the
goat cheese mixture over each dough round, leaving a 1-inch border
around the edge. Evenly sprinkle ground almonds over goat cheese.
Arrange figs on top in overlapping circles. Lightly drizzle with the
honey and sprinkle with lavender buds.

With cool hands, fold the dough border up over the figs and form
pleats. (Don't worry about making it perfect; galettes are meant to be
free-form.) Brush dough with melted butter and lightly sprinkle with
sugar.

Bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, about 40 minutes.
Transfer galettes to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room
temperature.

*To make lavender goat cheese:
Mix up to 1 teaspoon dried lavender buds into 8 ounces softened goat
cheese. The potency of lavender buds can vary, so add 1/4 teaspoon at
a time and taste; it should be fragrant, but not overpowering.