Summer Tomato Galette with Cheese and Fresh Herbs
I call this a Late Summer Tomato Galette because it is the perfect way to use up those beautiful, end-of-season tomatoes. However, this dish can be (and in my opinion, should be) made all year. I had never actually had a tomato galette before now but have been wanting to make one for years. I don’t know why I never did. I love tomatoes and the thought of a savory, rustic tart-like confection. But for some reason, a galette seemed daunting. Why? I have no idea. Maybe they were just unfamiliar. Upon some research though, I came to the realization that this is not a daunting project at all. It is, invariably, very simple and easy and charmingly low-maintenance. One of the more relaxed recipes I’ve made in awhile.
About the Process
The galette starts out with a salty and flaky pie-like dough that comes together incredibly easily. You simply mix, chill, and roll. Just like most pie dough recipes, you have to cut in cold butter. There are a few ways you can do this. You can use a pastry cutter and sort of rock it back and forth while mixing. You could put everything in a food processor and pulse until you have a crumbly meal-like texture. Or finally, you could just use your hands – Dot the chunks of cold butter throughout the flour mixture in a large bowl and sorta pinch and rub the butter in between your fingertips while mixing everything together, working quickly so the butter does not melt. Whatever way you choose, it’ll work perfectly. After cutting in the butter, you’ll want to knead the dough and pat it into a flat disc, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and chill. You can chill the dough up to 48 hours so this is something you could easily make ahead of time.
When you’re ready to make the galette, you’ll want to place your tomato slices in a single layer onto some paper towels, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and let the excess liquid drain off. This step is important and prevents your galette from having a soggy bottom. When the tomatoes are almost ready, you’ll want to roll out your chilled dough onto parchment paper and start assembling the galette.
I start with a good sprinkling of medium chunks or shreds of cheese. My favorites are feta and a smoked blue cheese. But Gruyere, smoked Gouda, or Manchego would also be lovely. Part of what makes this recipe so low-maintenance is that you really can adapt it to your taste or what you happen to have on had at the moment. Next, I scatter an entire bulb’s worth of roasted garlic and thinly sliced shallots over the cheese. I know a whole bulb of garlic sounds like a lot. But garlic loses its intense bite in the roasting process and you’re left with a buttery, slightly sweet delicacy.
On top of the garlic and shallots, I sprinkle a mixture of fresh herbs. I love to use parsley, dill, tarragon, and oregano but you can use whatever suits your fancy. Next, I layer on those tomatoes, overlapping them in a circular fashion so that they cover the filling. After a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, you’ll want to fold up the edges of the dough, folding it over onto itself in spots as you move around the edges of the galette. Lastly, brush the crust edge with beaten egg to give it a wonderful sheen in the oven. Sprinkle the galette with salt and pepper, freeze for a bit more, and bake. This is a delightful and charming dish to make on a lazy Saturday. It works for any time of day and is especially lovely with a side of arugula tossed in olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Eat well and enjoy!
Ingredient Details
- All-purpose Flour – For the Galette crust, you’re essentially making something very similar to a pie crust, so all-purpose flour tends to work best. I haven’t tested this with any other flour but feel free to play around and experiment with different flours!
- Salt – I like to use kosher or sea salt for this recipe. They lend a nice clean and mild flavor to the dough.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – This might seem like a weird ingredient but it’s an important step! Apple cider vinegar inhibits gluten to help prevent the dough from becoming tough. Because pie dough tends to be tough and crumbly in the first place, it can require a lot of kneading and apple cider vinegar provides some insurance against overworking the dough. It also adds a very subtle sourness that brings out a lot of flavors.
- Chilled Butter and Ice-Cold Water – You want to make sure these ingredients are COLD so that they keep the dough nice and tight – You’ll probably see the cold butter dotted throughout the finished dough – That is normal! The trick to this recipe is to make sure the dough is chilled very well (I chill right after making the dough and then again after assembling the galette before placing it in the oven.? If your dough is not properly chilled, the dough and all of that butter will spread in the oven; making the crust hard and flat as opposed to flaky and buttery.
- Tomatoes – One of the things I love best about this recipe is that it leaves a lot of flexibility for experimentation. You can literally use a mix of whatever size or variety of tomato that you want. It’s also a great recipe to use up any tomatoes that are on the verge of not being so fresh anymore.
- Fresno Chile – This does not add a lot of heat to the recipe. However, if you are very sensitive to spice, feel free to omit or use a different chile or pepper. Sweet or bell peppers would work well with this! Or even a green chile. Like a lot of spice? Go for it and add some serranoes or habaneros! It’s your galette journey!
- Head of Garlic – That’s right. I use a WHOLE head of garlic in this recipe. It might seem like a lot… But roasting the garlic first takes away the sharpness and makes it super buttery, mild, and flavorful. Trust me. It’s not too much garlic!
- Fresh Herbs – Again, feel free to experiment with this or use up whatever you might have on hand. I love parsley, dill, tarragon, and oregano but almost any fresh herb would work!
- Shallots – I really like shallots for this recipe because they are so mild and sweet. If you can’t find shallots, a small sweet or mild yellow onion would work too!
- Lemon Juice – A touch of lemon juice doesn’t make this recipe taste lemony. Instead, it adds brightness to the dish and brings out wonderful, fresh flavors.
- Cheese – I love mixing feta and smoked blue cheese for this recipe. Feta lends a tart and salty flavor that goes so well with the tomatoes and fresh herbs, while the smoked blue cheese adds a creamy punch of earthy flavor without being too overpowering. However, you can use whatever cheese you like! This would be great with gouda, goat cheese, swiss, or even cheddar!
- 1 egg, beaten – Brushing a beaten egg (commonly referred to as an egg wash) lightly over the crust right before baking helps the dough develop a flaky, golden surface.
- Salt and pepper to taste – Right before baking, I sprinkle a dash of salt and pepper over the top of the galette.
This savory tomato galette can be made all year round with any mix of tomatoes you have on hand! It's also a great recipe for using up those soft tomatoes that are on the verge of not being so fresh. It can take some time because you'll want your dough to be nice and chilled but you can make the filling while the dough is chilling to save time!
- 2 cup all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
- 1 1/4 tsp kosher or sea salt
- 3/4 cup butter, chilled and cut into small pieces (1 1/2 sticks)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup ice-cold water (more if needed)
- 2 to 2 1/2 lb tomatoes (sliced about 1/4-inch thick)
- 1 tsp kosher or sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 Fresno chile, minced
- 1 head of garlic, roasted (see instructions below)
- 1/4 cup fresh herbs of choice, minced (I love parsley, dill, tarragon, and oregano)
- 1 large shallots, thinly sliced
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1 1/2 cup cheese (I love feta and smoked blue cheese)
- 1 egg (beaten)
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Using a sharp knife, cut off the top of the garlic bulb just enough so that the cloves are exposed (about ¼ to ½-inch) and remove any excess papery outer layers.
Make a small bowl with tall sides using aluminum foil and place the garlic bulb inside. Drizzle with olive oil, rubbing it over the bulb and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Place the aluminum foil bowl in a baking dish, making sure it is sturdy and won’t fall over. Loosely fold the sides of the aluminum foil bowl up over the garlic bulb. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.
(Alternately, you can also place the bulb in a very small baking dish, such as a ramekin, or a muffin tin and cover the top loosely with foil. Muffin tins work well if you want to roast several bulbs at a time.)
Using tongs, remove the garlic bulb from the foil. When cool enough to handle, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their paper sections. You can also use a small spoon to scoop out the cloves.
Place the flour, salt, and butter in a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut and mix the butter into the flour and salt until you get a crumbly coarse meal mixture with a few pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. If you don’t have a pastry cutter, you can also pulse in a food processor or use your hands by pinching and rubbing the butter into the dough and mixing together.
Drizzle this mixture with the apple cider vinegar and a quarter cup ice-cold water. Mix lightly with a fork, adding more water by the tablespoon as needed, until a shaggy dough comes together. Turn out onto a very lightly floured work surface and knead until no more dry spots remain in the dough, being careful not to over work. Pat the dough into a thick disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours or up to 48 hours.
Layer a baking sheet with a few layers of paper towel. Place the sliced tomatoes, in a single layer, on the paper towels and sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. black pepper. Let sit for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Unwrap the chilled dough and place on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper. Roll out to a 14-inch round that is about ⅛-inch thick. Transfer the dough and parchment to a baking sheet.
Scatter and dot the cheese over the dough, leaving about a 1 ½-inch border. Next, scatter the roasted garlic cloves and shallots over the cheese layer. Sprinkle the herbs over the garlic and shallots. And finally, arrange the tomatoes over the top so that they overlap and cover the entire filling.
Sprinkle with the juice from half a lemon. Fold the edges of dough up and over the filling, overlapping as needed to create about a 1½-inch border. Brush the dough with the beaten egg. Sprinkle tomatoes with sea or kosher salt and black pepper. Chill in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove from the freezer and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the galette is cooked through and the crust is a golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes. Sprinkle with more cheese and fresh herbs and serve. You can eat right away or transfer to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. This galette is delicious hot, room temperature, or even cold.