I realise I’m rather late to the party to share a recipe for tomato galette as here in the Southern Hemisphere, summer is officially over. I actually developed and shot this dish back in February after sourcing the most tomatoey tomatoes from Oep Ve Koep in Paternoster and it’s been fermenting in my TO DO folder ever since. I absolutely love a galette because it appears so wonderfully fancy when it is in fact almost boringly straightforward.
My friend Sam of Drizzle and Dip recently shared her recipe for tomato galette replete with crumbly sour cream pastry and it looks utterly sublime. Mine on the other hand is for lazy people – like myself – and so good old store-bought shortcrust pastry is utilised here. A similarity our recipes have is using the most perfectly ripe tomatoes one can find, along with fragrant herbs like oregano, basil or thyme. As with the rest of the world, I’m a big fan of tomato paired with cheese and for my galette I’ve combined ricotta for the base of the filling, chevin has a topping and Parmesan – the latter of which I grate and along with finely chopped herbs, press into my shortcrust pastry to add flavour. A little cheat to upgrade readymade pastry that also tastes great!
I like to use a selection of differently shaped and coloured tomatoes, more for aesthetic reasons than taste. I love combining ruby red oxheart tomatoes with little yellow plum tomatoes and a few cherry tomatoes for sweetness.
Prep time: 30 mins / Cook time: 40 mins / Serves: 4-6
You will need:
- 1x 400g roll of shortcrust pastry, thawed
- 250g ricotta cheese
- 200g chevin goat’s milk cheese
- 150g Parmesan, grated
- Half a lemon, zested
- 4-6 perfectly ripe tomatoes
- 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3-4 sprigs fresh oregano
- Olive oil
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 1 egg, beaten
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
In a bowl, combine the ricotta with half of the chevin and the lemon zest. Season generously with salt and pepper and chill until needed. Slice the tomatoes to a thickness of just over 1mm. Arrange the slices on some kitchen towel and season with salt. Leave the slices to drain while you prepare the pastry.
Prepare the herbs by stripping the leaves from their stalks. Use a knife or mezzaluna to finely chop the herbs. In a bowl, combine the chopped herbs with the Parmesan cheese. Dust a work surface with a little flour and roll out the shortcrust pastry to extend it a little. Sprinkle over the herb and Parmesan mix and use the rolling pin to press the mixture into the pastry. Roll out the pastry into a rough circle, about just under 1mm thick at the base. Place the pastry on to a lined baking sheet and spread over the ricotta cheese mixture, leaving about a 6-7cm border around the edges.
Arrange the tomato slices over the ricotta and season with black pepper. Cut the remaining chevin into rounds and layer over the galette. Sprinkle a few thyme leaves over the top and fold in the pastry, brushing with beaten egg to seal and glaze the edges. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top and bake the galette for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is golden and the tomatoes are very gently charred. Leave the galette to cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving.
I love serving tomato galette as a light lunch or side dish, or as part of a relaxed antipasto spread.
