I’m going to be coming at you with A LOT of strawberry recipes the next few days. You’ve been warned.

Yesterday morning I drove out to Belleville, Illinois, to pick strawberries at Eckert’s. I used to go there when I was little with my family but it was completely different back then. There was one barn and picnic tables set up outside. A woman sold custard and corn on the cob from a stand next to the barn.

Now, Eckert’s is a whole operation. There’s a country store, a restaurant, and a greenhouse. Yesterday they hosted a strawberry festival so there was a carnival with rides off to the side of the fields.

I managed to avoid the crowds by getting there early. I rode in a tractor with a bunch of families out to the fields. Once we got there, I wandered to the back where only a few women and men were picking. It was calmer and less noisy. Most of the families with small kids tended to stay near the front.

Even though I wouldn’t pick berries for an entire day, doing it for an hour was fun and relaxing. There’s something thrilling about finding the perfect ripened berry, even if you do it twenty times in a row. Every time feels like the first time.

I wanted to eat a berry straight off the vine but I wasn’t sure if we were allowed to. Then I heard a guy near me say to his wife, “I just tried one and it’s so good.” So I popped the next one that I picked into my mouth. It was tart, slightly sweet, juicy, and fresh. In short, it was everything that a strawberry should be. It made me wonder for the billionth time how I eat grocery store strawberries.

I had a bunch of recipe ideas for the berries but I was most excited about making a strawberry pistachio galette. I love anything with pistachios and strawberries, so I decided to combine them for this recipe.

My favorite part about this recipe besides the crust is the frangipane filling. Frangipane is ground pistachios with sugar, butter, and eggs. If you think that sounds bad, you’re wrong. If you think it sounds good, make it immediately. It’s SO worth it. My sisters and I were eating frangipane off the back of a spoon.

To assemble the galette, spread the frangipane paste on rolled out galette dough. Make sure you leave about eight inches of space in the middle of the galette for the strawberries. I layered fresh berries on top of the frangipane and then I added a few more once the galette came out of the oven.

I could have eaten the whole galette by myself but I shared some with my mom and sisters. It could be a good idea if you have the time and resources to make two: one for yourself and one to share. I’m still thinking about the way the flaky pastry dough melted in my mouth with the tart strawberries, toasted pistachios, and sweet frangipane…un. real.

Here’s a song that reminds me of this galette. It’s good for moments when you smell things baking in the oven and want to eat them immediately but have to wait 45 minutes until they’re done.

Strawberry Pistachio Galette (from me, to you)

Ingredients

for the crust:
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 – 3/4 cup ice cold water

for the frangipane filling:
1/2 tsp lemon zest
½ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup shelled raw pistachios
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
¼ teaspoon almond extract

for assembly:
2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
1 large egg
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup raw pistachios, chopped
1 Tbsp Turbinado sugar
confectioners’ sugar and more sliced berries for serving

Directions

Start by making the galette dough. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse in the cold butter until pea-sized pieces of dough formed. Do not overmix. Add the ice cold water slowly until the dough starts to come together into a ball. Remove the dough from the food processor and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the fridge for at least an hour, but preferably overnight.

While you’re waiting for your dough to chill, toss the 2 cups of sliced strawberries in a bowl with some sugar. Let it sit and macerate while you make the frangipane filling.

To make the frangipane filling, combine the lemon zest, sugar, and pistachios in a food processor until finely ground. Add the butter and mix until incorporated. Then add the eggs and almond extract. The mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Flour a large work surface. Remove your dough from the fridge and roll it out until it’s 16 inches in diameter. When it’s the right size, carefully remove it from the work surface and place it on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Spread the frangipane onto the crust, leaving about 3 inches empty around the sizes. Put the sliced berries on top of the frangipane and gently fold in the crust, layering the sides to it looks fluted around the edges. Leave about 8 inches of space open in the middle so the berries and frangipane is showing.

Beat an egg and brush it gently on the galette crust. Sprinkle pistachios and Turbinado sugar on top until the crust is evenly coated.

Bake the galette in the oven for about 40 minutes or until the crust is a deep golden brown. Remove the galette from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack. Top with fresh berries and confectioners’ sugar. Enjoy!