Tomato Galette - fresh, scrumptious & super easy ! Home made with farm fresh cherry tomatoes and a whole lotta love
Cherry Tomato Galette
For those of you who like rustic, heart warming food, the galette is a perfect addition to you dinner table. It is uncommon and yet very easy to make; it doesn't need you to be extra careful or have nimble fingers. There are so many fruits or veggies you can put in a galette making it sweet or savoury.
I recently made one with a box of farm fresh cherry tomatoes I had just received. I LOVE tomatoes- in all shapes, sizes, colours, cooked or uncooked so I really wanted them to be the hero rather than just an element on a plate.
The best way often, to use good quality produce is to always keep it simple. As you may have noticed, baking tomatoes brings out their natural sweetness or sourness, depending on the tomato.
Mine had a mix of really ripe and just ripe ones so I knew it would be a good mix of flavour.
The galette pastry is the same as that of a regular pie - shortcrust - so I began working on that first so I could refrigerate it. I’ve made so many pies I can make it blind, without proper measurements but I will still list the recipe below.
I like to work systematically and also multi task to cut down time consumption. While the pastry sits in the fridge, grab a whole garlic and chuck it in foil with salt & pepper seasoning and a drizzle of oil. Wrap it and put it in the oven at 180° for about 15 minutes.
While that is roasting, prep the tomatoes. Cut some in halves and leave some whole; this way the baked pie will have a beautiful textured finish. Recipe listed at the end.
That is all the prep you need. Now for assembling, roll out the pastry onto a silicon baking sheet or baking paper or directly on your counter top. It does not need to be a perfect shape as long as you get an even thickness. The edges have to be folded in after spreading the tomatoes in the centre then it's baking time!
My galette was perfect on it's own - the flavour profile going from tart to sweet and umami so I served it as it was. You can always put in what you like - a dollop of sour cream or a halved burrata. It looks amazing on a dinner table alongside a roast or even a savoury evening high tea snack !
Cherry Tomato Galette
Level : Easy
Prep. Time : 20 mins
Cook Time : 30 mins
Ingredients
Pie Crust :
Cold Butter - 125 grams
Plain Flour - 195 grams
Salt - 2 grams
Dried herb seasoning - a pinch
Ice cold water - 3 to 4 tablespoons
Filling :
Cherry Tomatoes. - 300 grams
Garlic - 1 whole
Balsamic vinegar - 1 tablespoon
Olive oil - 1 tablespoon + 1 tbs for drizzling
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Method
Preheat an oven at 180°
Pie Crust :
Make sure the butter is chilled & diced. Add the dry ingredients in a bowl then add the chilled butter.
Use your finger tips to break up the butter and keep rubbing into the flour till it forms flakes & crumbs.
Use a fork and mix it and add a little of the iced water. It needs to clump into bigger lumps then you can use your hands again to bring it all together into a ball
Cover it and refrigerate for 10 - 15 mins.
You can also use a food processor to do this but pulse it for short bursts. It will display the same steps of small breadcrumbs to a bigger clump. The moment you see a clump forming, take it out onto a mat or counter top and bring it together with your hands
Filling :
Put the whole garlic in a square piece of foil, drizzle some olive oil & salt pepper seasoning. Wrap it into a ball and bake for 15 mins.
Keep some cherry tomatoes whole & cut some into halves. Keep aside.
Once the garlic is done and slightly cooled, cut off the bottom root of the bulb and squeeze out the now softened pods into a bowl
Add in the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, olive oil & salt pepper seasoning and gently toss.
Assembly :
If you are using a silicone mat or baking paper you can roll the pastry onto it directly. If not, flour the surface.
Roll out the pastry to roughly half a centimetre. It does not matter if you cannot roll out a proper circle but make sure you try to level out the thickness because that affects the cooking of the crust.
Add the tossed tomatoes to the centre of the rolled out pastry. Keep an inch away from the corners.
Fold in the corners like a pouch or follow a hexagonal pattern
Bake for 20-25 mins watching the browning of the crust.
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