Easy Fresh Tomato Galette (with homemade crust)
Galette is a free-form pie or tart that requires no pie dish. This one has a layer of cheese mixture, a buttery herb crust, and ripe tomatoes bursting with flavor in every bite. We always use homemade pie dough, but you can use a purchased one for convenience.
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
For the galette dough:
- Ice Water 1 cup tap water with several ice cubes
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter very cold
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh herbs chopped. I use thyme, oregano, and sometimes basil (or you can add it to the cheese mixture; it's simpler, and you still get the flavor)
For the filling:
- ¾ cup cream cheese or soft goat cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese or Asiago or white Cheddar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Salt
- Tomatoes about 3 cups (I used about 3 round tomatoes and ½ cup of cherry halves)
- Cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs optional for serving
Instructions
For the galette dough:
- Put ice 4 or 5 ice cubes in a measuring cup and fill with cold water to about a cup.
- In a food processor put flour, salt, and herbs and pulse once or twice to combine.
- Scatter the cubed butter on top and pulse using on/off until the butter is the size of peas.
- Add about ½ cup of ice water and pulse a few times.
- Add ¼ cup more ice water and pulse until it barely comes together. Check the dough. Even though it's crumbly and dry, if you take some and squeeze it with your hand, it should come together. If it doesn't, add more ice water, a teaspoon or two at a time until it does. Don't overprocess it!
- By hand, use a large bowl to combine flour, salt, and herbs.
- Add the cold butter pieces and work them into the flour with your hands or a pastry cutter until the size of peas and beans. They will be irregular and that is fine.
- Add ice water and stir with a fork until it moistens the flour mixture. It will still be crumbly and look dry in places. Check and adjust with more water if needed as explained in Step 5 above.
For both methods:
- Transfer dough to a barely floured surface and gather it together into a ball. Don't overwork it or the dough will be tough. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour or up to 3 days.
For the filling:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a small bowl mix cream cheese or goat cheese, grated cheese, olive oil, and black pepper. Add some extra salt if you feel you want to. This is very personal to your palate.
Assembling the galette:
- Use a rolling pin to roll the cold dough on a lightly floured surface until you have a round of about 14 inches in diameter.
- Transfer it carefully to a piece of parchment paper placed on a baking sheet.
- Spoon the cheese mixture on the center of the rolled pie dough and spread with the back of a spoon, making a circle of about 9 or 10 inches and leaving an edge of several inches (2-inch border at least) of dough without filling.
- Cut fresh tomatoes into slices and blot with paper towels to avoid adding too much liquid to the galette. Place the tomatoes on top of the cheese in whatever pattern you want to, just don't mound them too high.
- Lift the edge of the dough and fold it inward, covering some of the filling. Keep doing that with all of the dough until you have a circular tart with an exposed center.
- If you feel the pie is too warm or starting to look shiny, you may want to pop it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, no more, before going into the oven. A cold dough helps prevent a soggy crust.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired, drizzle with olive oil and bake for about 40 minutes, or until it's golden and dry and the filling is bubbly and slightly burnt.
- Let cool slightly and eat warm. Or let cool completely and eat at room temperature.
- Refrigerate leftovers, well covered in plastic wrap or in an airtight container.
Notes
Organization: read the recipe first to ensure you have ingredients at the right temperatures, equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier!
Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. Use a thermometer inside the oven to check that the temperature is right. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
Making the crust: work with cold pie dough. If it gets warm while you're rolling it, pop it into the fridge for a while and then resume assembly.
Alternative crusts: for a flakier dough make our Flaky Pie Crust, adding herbs as instructed above. Or use an all-butter store-bought pie crust. Puff pastry is another option if going the purchased route.
Filling: use any soft cheese (cream cheese, ricotta, sour cream, goat cheese) and season it well. I love grated parmesan because it has so much flavor, but asiago, or even fontina or gruyere work. Mix it before rolling the dough and have it in the refrigerator up until you need it so it's as cold as possible.
Oven: a preheated oven is essential! You want the pie crust to bake dry and flaky.
Storing: you can make the dough ahead and have it in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month (well covered in plastic wrap). The baked galette can be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days (maybe more) always covered or in an airtight container to prevent dryness. You can also freeze it but I don't recommend it as the tomatoes will have a different texture after it's thawed. If you do, warm it in a medium oven before eating it.
