Easy Tomato Galette – A Simple, Tasty Freeform Tart

Easy Tomato Galette is a great dish for summery or autumn. A galette is from French cuisine, a freeform tart.

Though a galette can be sweet or savoury I prefer the latter. So for this galette I use tomatoes, which are the star of the show. But, not only tomatoes. The galette needs lots of lovely flavours. So, some Gruyere cheese is one of those. The Gruyere though not only adds flavour it provides a bed on which to lay the tomatoes. That helps to prevent juice from seeping into the pastry. Of course, other hard cheeses are a good alternative.

Along with the Gruyere I like to add a little parmesan cheese for extra flavour. But that, too is not all. Some Dijon mustard and shallots offer more flavour. The shallots add another slight texture difference too.

The recipe is very easy to make. It does take a little time however, since the pastry is left to chill and relax before use.

Ingredients For Tomato Galette

Pastry

Flour – Plain or all purpose flour

Butter – Unsalted butter. You can use salted butter, but them omit the salt from the this part of the recipe.

Eggs – Medium eggs in UK/Europe and large eggs in North America. An extra egg will be used for brushing.

Salt – to draw out the flavour of the pastry.

Filling

Tomatoes – Lots of tomatoes, in 1/4 inch slices. Tomatoes of different colours will add to the appearance, if you can find them.

Cheese – I use two types of cheese. Gruyere which forms a bed for the tomatoes, and parmesan to sprinkle in, and then on top.

Mustard – Dijon Mustard gives a subtle but delicious flavour. English mustard might be too strong.

Shallots – Sliced shallots give a little sweetness and extra texture.

Salt – Some for sprinkling on the tomatoes and then letting them drain to release excess juice. Then more salt to flavour.

Garlic – Minced garlic adds flavour.

Oil – EV Olive Oil to coat the tomatoes. This adds a little flavour too.

Thyme – Finely chopped thyme, in moderation, offers a lovely flavour. You can use other herbs too.

Pepper – Just a little, to personal taste.

Process for Tomato Galette

Make the pasty by blitzing the flour, butter and salt in a food processor and then adding beaten egg and processing until a dough is formed.

Form the dough into a disc and cover in plastic wrap, then chill it for one hour.

As the pastry rests sprinkle salt on the sliced tomatoes and gently toss them to get the salt distribute. Place the tomatoes in a colander to let excess juice drip out.

Preheat the oven(190C/170C Fan/375F).

Roll out the pastry to a circle about 30cm(12 inches). Place the pastry on a silcone mat or some parchment paper and transfer to a baking tray. The edge of the pastry can overlap the tray since you will fold it in later.

Brush dijon mustard on the pastry leaving a border of about 1 1/2 inches. Cover the mustard with Gruyere cheese and then sprinkle about half of the parmesan on top. Set the pastry aside for a moment.

Put the drained tomato slices into a large bowl and add in the oil, pinch of pepper, thyme and garlic and gently toss to mix through.

Bring the pastry back and layer the tomatoes on the dijon mustard, adding slices of shallots as you do so. Let the tomato slices overlap each other.

Brush beaten egg around the exposed border and fold it up over the edge of the tomatoes, creating little pleats as you do so. Brush more egg over the exposed pastry. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan over the top of the tomatoes.

Bake the galette for about 50 minutes, until the pastry takes of a nice golden brown colour. Leave it on the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack. Leave it for a further 20 to 30 minutes, then serve, warm.

My Bake

I let my galette bake for 50 minutes. By that time the pastry was nice and golden brown. The juicy tomatoes were soft and the juice was bubbling. I let the galette cool as I describe above.

Then I cut a slice and was able to enjoy a taste. The pastry, cooked through perfectly was great. The filling was juice and savoury, with all those lovely flavours distinct and complementary.

I had the most delicious lunch.

Another great recipe is Ultimate Onion Tart.

Easy Tomato Galette – A Simple, Tasty Freeform Tart

Recipe by geoffcoo

Course: Pies, Tarts, Stove top/SavouryDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time(excl waiting)

40

minutes

Cooking time

50

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Pastry

• 225 grams plain flour(1 1/2 cups, based on scooping packed flour into a 250ml cup)

• 100 grams unsalted butter, cold(7 tbsp)

• 2 medium eggs(large in USA)

• 3 grams salt(1/2 tsp

• Filling

• 700 grams Tomatoes, in 1/4 inch slices(24 1/2 oz)

• 6 grams salt(1 tsp)

• 100 grams Gruyere cheese(2/3 cup + 1/4 cup)

• 50 grams finely grated parmesan(1/4 cup)

• 50 grams shallots, sliced(1/2 cup)

• 18 grams Dijon mustard(1 tbsp)

• 5 grams minced garlic(1 tsp)

• 1 gram finely chopped thyme(1 tsp)

• 3 grams salt(1/2 tsp)

• 30 ml EV olive oil(2 tbsp)

• Pinch of pepper, to taste

• 1 egg, for egg wash.

Directions

• Put the flour, salt and butter into a food processor and blitz to a fine breadcrumb texture.
• Add the eggs(beaten lightly) to the mixture and process until the dough forms. If necessary add a drop of water to help it form.
• Form the dough into a disc and then wrap in plastic and chill it for an hour.
• Gently toss the sliced tomatoes in 6g(1 tsp) salt and place them in a colander and allow the excess juices to drip out.
• Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/375F.
• Roll out the pastry, on a floured surface, to a circle about 12 inches(30 cm) in diameter.
• Transfer the pastry to a silicone baking mat, or some parchment paper and place it on a baking tray. The pastry can overlap the edge since it will be folded up later.
• Brush Dijon mustard in a circle, on the pastry, leaving a border of about 1 1/2 inches around the edge.
• Cover the mustard with Gruyere cheese and the sprinkle half the parmesan over that.
• Set the pastry aside.
• Transfer the drained tomatoes to a a large bowl.
• Add the oil, garlic, thyme, salt and a pinch of pepper and then gently toss them together.
• Layer the tomatoes onto the cheese, overlapping the slices, and add shallot slices as you do so.
• When the tomatoes and shallots are nicely arranged brush beaten egg on the exposed border.
• Fold the border up onto the tomatoes, a little at a time, creating a pleat in the pastry as you do each fold.
• Brush the folded edge all over with beaten egg.
• Sprinkle the remaining parmesan over the top of the tomatoes.
• Bake the galette for 50 minutes, untll the pastry is cooked and is a nicel golden brown.
• Leave the galette on the baking tray for 10 minutes, then carefull transfer to a wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes before serving.