There are two things that scream summer to me: tomatoes and berries. I am always trying to incorporate both into my savory and sweet recipes during the summertime, and this tomato galette is a great savory bake!
It almost tastes like a pizza, except with flakier crust! Another bonus is that it’s a little faster to make (you do have to let the dough sit for a little, but otherwise very minimal effort)!
Creating the perfect tomato galette filling
Flavorful tomatoes will take this filling a long way. I have found that Campari tomatoes are really packed with flavor, versus beefsteak tomatoes that can be hit or miss.
Another key step is letting your sliced tomatoes sit with some salt sprinkled on them. This will help release the moisture from the tomatoes, and you’ll end up with a less watery filling.
Otherwise, it’s pretty simple! Feel free to swap out the cheese in the recipe for any type of cheese you’d like.
Tips on Crust
Let me just say this now: you will fail the first time you make crust. You actually might fail the first 10 times you make crust. Or get it perfect the first or second time but the third and fourth are a disaster. It’s OK. Crust (and any type of dough) take a lot of practice and patience to master.
Dough is heavily affected by the environment you’re in. Making crust in the winter and summer can drastically change your results.
To start, make sure your butter and shortening are COLD. You’ll want to use them straight out of the fridge. Throughout the dough making process, I mention to keep sticking the bowl in the freezer. This is just an extra precaution to make sure things are cold.
Next, make sure that when you cut your fat into the flour, the largest chunks of fat are no larger than small peas. The dough will start to resemble a coarse meal.
And finally, add in ice water one tablespoon at a time. Mix the dough in a food processor or with a fork. When you see pieces of flour start to clump, grab a small palmful and gently squeeze. If it stays in a ball, it’s ready. If it crumbles, it needs some more water.
Then you’ll turn the rest of the dough onto a work surface. Knead it gently to form into a cohesive ball, and then pat it into a disc. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for 2 hours. This will allow the gluten strands in the flour to relax, creating a more tender and flakey crust. The kneading you just did to get the dough together toughened these gluten strands.
Looking for other ways to practice your crust skills?
Try these pies!
Looking for more tomato recipes?
Tomato Galette
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups (188 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons cold butter
- 3 tablespoons shortening
- 1/3 cup ice water
Filling
- 1/2 lb tomatoes* sliced 1/4″ thick
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup cream cheese
- 1/2 cup feta
- Olive oil
- 1 egg, beaten
- Fresh basil, roughly chopped
Instructions
For the Crust
- In a medium sized bowl, combine flour and salt. Stick the bowl and a pastry cutter*/fork in the freezer.
- Cut the butter and shortening into tablespoon sized pieces. Take the bowl from the freezer and add the butter and shortening. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. The biggest chunks of fat should be the size of small peas. Alternatively you can pulse in a food processor to get the same result.
- Place the bowl in the freezer again. Prepare the ice water.
- Remove the bowl from the freezer. Keep adding ice water 1 tablespoon at a time*, gently tossing the mixture with a fork. Gently squeeze a small handful of dough in your fist. If the dough still crumbles and doesn’t stick together, keep adding water one tablespoon at a time.
- Gently knead the dough together in the bowl so it forms a cohesive ball. Turn the dough onto a work surface. Gently flatten the ball into a disc about 1.5″ tall.
- Wrap the discs in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to rest for 2 hours.
- Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the disc to 12” in diameter, flouring over and under the dough as you go to prevent sticking.
- Place the rolled out dough on a lined baking sheet, place baking sheet in fridge.
Prepare the filling
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Place sliced tomatoes in a bowl and sprinkle on 1 teaspoon of salt. Toss gently to combine. Let sit for 10 minutes. Then remove the tomatoes and place them evenly on paper towels. Blot the tops of the slices with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Discard any remaining liquid in the bowl.
- Place the tomatoes back in the bowl. Add the remaining salt, thyme, freshly ground black pepper, and garlic.
- Combine the cream cheese and feta. Remove your dough from the fridge. Spread the cheese mixture on the dough, leaving about a 1 1/2” gap from the edges. Place the tomatoes in an even layer over the cheese.
- Fold up the edges of the dough so they lay over the filling. Brush the dough with the egg. Drizzle olive oil on top of the filling.
- Place in oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Remove and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh basil.
