Rhubarb Galette with Orange Zest

Rhubarb arrives when you need it most. After months of citrus and stored apples, those pink and crimson stalks push through the cold soil, and suddenly the farmers market feels alive again. This is spring's first fruit, technically a vegetable, but we treat it like the treasure it is.

A galette asks almost nothing of you. No special pan, no crimping technique, no anxiety about whether it will release from the tin. You roll the dough, pile on the fruit, fold the edges, and bake. The imperfection is the beauty. Every galette looks handmade because it is.

The orange zest matters here. Rhubarb is bracingly tart, almost aggressive, and the orange rounds those sharp edges without masking the character. A little sugar, a little zest, and the fruit does everything else. This is what I mean when I say perfect ingredients need almost nothing done to them.

Find rhubarb with stalks that are firm and glossy, not limp or browning at the edges. The color can range from pale green to deep crimson. Deeper color often means sweeter, but any fresh stalk will serve you well. Ask your farmer when it was cut. Rhubarb that was in the ground yesterday tastes different from rhubarb that rode in a truck for a week.