The Best Summer Fresh Tomato Galette

This Fresh Tomato Galette is so delicious, that I’m quite sure it will convert non-tomato lovers into going back for seconds. The food processor pastry is a breeze to make. To prevent a soggy crust, heirloom tomatoes are lightly salted to drain out excess moisture. One more barrier is a thin layer of Dijon mustard and Gruyère cheese. Shallots and fresh thyme gives the tomatoes a savory component. While the galette was baking the aroma was intoxicating. It really got my mouth watering! End result: Tender, flaky pastry with no sogginess! Tomatoes are the star of this show, and I can assure you that you will love it as much as we did.

Okay, it’s officially fall. However, summer veggies and fruits are still appearing at my grocery stores–and we are experiencing a heat wave on the coast of California. I’ve had this recipe on my mind for months and I finally made it. What took me so long?!

We love tomatoes, and grown them in our backyard. This year, we only grew cherry and pear tomatoes. So, when I spotted beautiful Heirloom tomatoes, I pounced on them!

To make this recipe, you need about 1.5 pounds of tomatoes. I chose a variety of colors because they were so pretty. Oops, I’m getting ahead of myself. The pastry needs to be made first.

A food processor makes this much easier to do. If you don’t own one, use a pastry cutter. In addition, if you feel you are a pie crust failure– by all means– by a pre-made pie crust! After making more pie crusts than I can count, I have learned the secret to successful and tender crusts is to not overwork the dough. We are not making bread!

Make sure your unsalted butter and water is ice cold. Using a food processor, gently pulse the butter into the flour and salt until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stop! Add the mixture into a bowl, and add some ice cold water and press and stir until the dough just combines. I’m not gonna lie– this dough was a bit stubborn and I added one more tablespoon of ice cold water.

I dumped the “shaggy” dough onto a floured surface and scooped and pressed it all together. Believe me, I got a little nervous that the dough was more “damp” than cohesive. I forged ahead, wrapping the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerating for at least an hour. The purpose of this is not to just relax the dough, but to “hydrate” it as well.

Back to the sliced tomatoes… some salt is added to the tomatoes and, very gently, is folded to combine.

The “key” to draining the tomatoes is to place them in a colander that is centered over a bowl. You need to allow 30 minutes for this process. In the meantime, let’s roll out the pastry dough.

I let the refrigerated pie dough come to room temperature for 10-15 minutes. On a floured baking mat, I rolled it and gave it a 1/4 turn each time– until it was 12″ in width. Look closely. Do you see the chunks of butter? That’s what will give tender layers to the pastry!

To give flavor to the tomatoes, slice one shallot and you’ll need fresh (not dried) thyme. Before seasoning the tomatoes, I decided to place them in a salad spinner to gently remove more moisture. I’m sure glad that I did, because there was a LOT of moisture!

To the well-drained tomatoes, I’m also adding olive oil. Now we’re ready to assemble the galette.

You’ll definitely want to set the dough on a parchment paper. A very thin layer of Dijon mustard goes on, leaving a border. Shingle the tomatoes on top. NOTE: I lifted out the tomatoes with my fingers, to prevent any extra moisture from getting onto the pastry. I evenly distributed the sliced shallots as well. I had some packaged pre-shredded Parmesan cheese that went on last.

The final step is to brush an egg wash all around the pastry. This will give the pastry a golden finish. Into a 375F preheated oven this goes for about 50 minutes.

The aroma that was coming out of our oven was intoxicating. I could smell the butter, thyme and shallots. I could hardly wait to sink my teeth into this recipe!

Lovely! The color looks perfect and the tomatoes were bubbling hot. I noticed some moisture and was a little concerned.

SPOILER ALERT: The liquid solidified during the 30 minute cooling period and there were no issues with sogginess.

Look closely! See those flaky layers of pastry? It was so tender and delicious. The 30 minute wait for the galette to cool was so worth it!

TASTING NOTES: When I first told my husband that I was going to make a tomato galette, he made a face that wasn’t exactly happy. He’s back-peddling now! He kept raving at how delicious this was! Our garden basil made a perfect garnish, before digging in. Besides the buttery and tender pastry, the sweetness of the tomatoes and savory shallots- the perfect balance of the Gruyère and a hint of Dijon was heavenly! A green salad (and a glass of chilled wine) rounded out this meal.

In case you are wondering, this galette does reheat beautifully. I placed a slice in a cast iron pan at 375F for about 10 minutes. The crust remain crispy and the galette tastes as good as the first day.

So, while I’m sharing this recipe in October, fresh tomatoes can still be found where we live. Plus, today, it’s going to hit in the 90’s. So Summer is still not ready go leave. It’s dancing with Fall.

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5 from 3 votes

The Best Summer Fresh Tomato Galette

The food processor pastry is a breeze to make. To prevent a soggy crust, heirloom tomatoes are lightly salted to drain out excess moisture. One more barrier is a thin layer of Dijon mustard and Gruyère cheese. Shallots and fresh thyme gives the tomatoes a savory component. While the galette was baking the aroma was intoxicating. It really got my mouth watering! End result: Tender, flaky pastry with no sogginess! Tomatoes are the star of this show, and I can assure you that you will love it as much as we did.

Prep Time2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Total Time3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, main

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Tomato Galette

Servings: 4

Author: Debby – www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Equipment

• Food processor
• Rimmed Baking Sheet and parchment paper
• Colanders and/or salad spinner

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 1 ½ cups 7½ ounces all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons table salt divided
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
• 6 – 7 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

• 1 ½ pounds mixed tomatoes cored and sliced ¼ inch thick (I used large heirloom tomatoes)
• 1 shallot sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• 1 garlic clove minced
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 3 ounces Gruyère cheese shredded (¾ cup)
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Egg wash:

• 1 large egg lightly beaten

For the garnish:

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

Instructions

For the dough:

• Process flour and ½ teaspoon salt in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds.

  Scatter butter over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Transfer to large bowl.

  Sprinkle 6 tablespoons ice water over flour mixture.

  Using a rubber spatula, stir and press dough until it sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon more ice water if dough doesn't come together.

  NOTE: Don't get discouraged if the dough seems hard to work with. You don't want a lot of powdered/dry flour, but you want it just moist enough that when you press it together it stick. I ended up using 7 Tablespoons of ice water. The dough will hydrate during the hour it spends in the fridge.
• Turn out dough onto lightly floured counter, form into 4-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. (Wrapped dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)

Prepare the tomatoes:

• Toss tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt together in second large bowl. Transfer tomatoes to colander and set colander in sink. Let tomatoes drain for 30 minutes.
• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.

  Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll the dough:

• Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. Roll dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured counter, then transfer to prepared sheet (dough may run up lip of sheet slightly; this is OK).

For the filling:

• Shake colander well to rid tomatoes of excess juice. NOTE: I used my salad spinner to gently remove excess moisture– and a LOT came out!

  Combine tomatoes, shallot, oil, thyme, garlic, pepper, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt in now-empty bowl.

  Spread mustard over dough, leaving 1½-inch border.

  Sprinkle Gruyère in even layer over mustard.

  Shingle tomatoes and shallot on top of Gruyère in concentric circles, keeping within 1½-inch border. Sprinkle Parmesan over tomato mixture.
• Carefully grasp 1 edge of dough and fold up about 1 inch over filling. Repeat around circumference of tart, overlapping dough every 2 inches, gently pinching pleated dough to secure.

  Brush folded dough with egg (you won't need it all).

Bake:

• Bake until crust is golden brown and tomatoes are bubbling, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer sheet to wire rack and let galette cool for 10 minutes. Using metal spatula, loosen galette from parchment and carefully slide onto wire rack; let cool until just warm, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with basil. Cut into wedges and serve.

Notes

If you don’t own a food processor, you can mix the pastry with a cutter or just your fingers.

I used my salad spinner to gently remove any additional moisture from the tomatoes.

You could make individual galettes with cherry tomatoes. I’d cut the dough into four rounds and prepare them that way.

RECIPE SOURCE: Cook’s Country Magazine August/September 2019

 

Tried this recipe?Mention @afeastfortheeyes or tag #afeastfortheeyesblog!

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