Thursday Food for Thought: La Galette des Rois

Just when you thought all the holiday feasting had come to an end, here comes The Epiphany! Tomorrow January 6th marks the date of this originally pagan holiday when Apollo and the Sun were celebrated. It was later Christianized and became a celebration of the arrival of the 3 wise men visiting baby Jesus.

To celebrate this special day, the French gather around a Galette des Rois which contains a little figurine inside which, when found by the winner, makes him or her king for the day. To avoid cheating, the host cuts a piece and asks another person to designate who will receive the slice (usually the youngest guest who hides under the table

Apparently this tradition of king for a day comes from the Romans who picked a slave to allow him to be free for a day.

Go to any pastry shop and you will see galettes of all sizes. Throughout France the galette takes different forms.

Galette des Rois
Ingredients
340g of puff pastry
1 egg, beaten with 1/2 tsp salt and 3 tbsp cold water
icing sugar
For the almond filling:
125g (4 1/2 oz butter), softened
125g (4 1/2 oz sugar)
15g (1/2 oz) plain flour
2 tbsps rum
Procedure
Refrigerate the puff pastry. Preheat the oven to 220°C / 425°F / Gas mark 7 Make the almond filling: cream the butter in a bowl, add the sugar and beat thoroughly. Beat in the egg and the egg yolk, then stir in the ground almonds, flour and rum. Roll out half the puff pastry to a circle about 27cm / 11 inches in diameter. Using a pan lid as a guide, cut out a 25cm / 10 inch circle from this with a sharp knife, angling the knife slightly. Roll out the remaining pastry slightly thicker than for the first round and cut out another 25cm / 10 inch circle. Set the thinner circle on a baking sheet, mound the filling in the centre, leaving a 2.5cm / 1 inch border, and brush the border with beaten egg. Set the second circle on top and press the edges together firmly. Scallop the edge of the gateau by pulling it in at intervals with the back of a knife. Brush the gateau with beaten egg, and, working from the centre, score the top in curves like the petals of a flower. Do not cut through to the filling. Refrigerate the gateau for 15 - 20 minutes. Bake the galette in the oven for 30 - 35 minutes, or until firm, puffed and brown. Serve warm Serves 6

I hear this year that the Grenier à Pain at 127 rue Caulaincourt has put a Louis d'Or gold coin worth a few hundred euros into one of their galettes. Not a bad way to get folks to come out and buy a few.