Sweet, roasted tomatoes classically paired with melted cheese and fresh basil, served on a golden and crumbly savoury pastry base. Galettes are simple, rustic bakes with so much versatility. Great to serve a crowd or as part of your meal prep for the week ahead, this is bursting with colour, texture and flavour and can be eaten warm or cold. Shortcrust pastry is easy to make by hand, with minimal equipment and can be made ahead and frozen too.
Time to prepare : 30 minutes
Total time to bake : 45 minutes
Serves : 6 - 8
Ingredients
Pastry
250g plain flour
120g butter, chilled
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
Toppings
400g tomatoes, I use a mix
80g cheese*, grated
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano or thyme
Fresh basil, to garnish
30g Parmesan, finely grated
Method
Cut the chilled butter into cubes. Add the flour, salt and butter cubes into a mixing bowl and use your fingertips to rub the flour into the butter cubes until you have no big clumps left and you have a breadcrumb like consistency.
Whisk 2 eggs in a mug and pour this in to the mixing bowl (save the 3rd egg for later).
Use your hands to bring the dough together until it forms a smooth ball. If the dough is too dry, add cold water 1 tsp at a time until there are no flour crumbs left.
Use your hands to flatten the dough out into a thick disc and wrap it in cling film to chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes (and up to 3 days).
Whilst the dough is chilling, pre-heat a fan oven to 160ºC, line a baking sheet with baking paper and prepare the toppings.
Cut the tomatoes into 1/2cm thick slices and put them in a sieve or colander over a bowl, then sprinkle over 1tsp salt. This will help to draw out excess moisture that can create a soggy pastry base. Set them to one side for at least 10 minutes.
Grate the cheese and mix in a bowl with the garlic.
Once the pastry has chilled, unwrap and roll it out on a lightly floured surface (or silicone pastry mat) with a rolling pin until it's roughly 30cm in diameter, it doesn't have to be perfectly circular. Transfer this onto the lined baking tray.
Pile the grated cheese into middle of the pastry base, spreading it out and leaving roughly 1 - 2” of border. Top with the sliced tomatoes that have been set to one side, don’t worry if they overlap.
Whisk the remaining egg in a mug and use a pastry brush or fingers to brush around the border. Use fingers to fold the border over to create a crust, working around the galette. Use the egg wash again to brush over the pastry and finish with sprinkling of parmesan, dried herbs and fresh black pepper.
Bake for 45 - 50 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before using a sharp knife to slice.
Nutritional Information (per serve, when sliced into 8)
304 calories
18g fat, 26g carbohydrate, 10g protein
Good to know:
Vegetarian.
To make this gluten-free, use certified GF flour.
If you have a food processor, you can use it to create the dough.
Use pure butter (sold in blocks) rather than spreadable tubs when making pastry.
You can use any tomatoes, I try to go for a mix of size and colour but that's purely for aesthetics!
You can use any hard cheese that can be grated, eg. cheddar, mozzarella, gruyere or gouda.
The pastry can be chilled in the fridge for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight before rolling out to use.
Baked galettes can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like to store mine in slices on a folded piece of kitchen paper towel to keep the base nice and crisp and absorb any moisture.
Can be eaten warm or cold, ping in the microwave to warm slices up (the pastry won't be as crispy but it will still taste delicious).