A Savory Tomato Galette!

Recently Ohiomom posted a wonderful looking Peach Gallette on her blog, Cooking in Cleveland. It looked so good and the crust recipe seemed easy enough for someone like me to make. Even though I've been baking baklava, spanakopita, and various other fillo-laden dishes all my adult life, I've never tried making pie crust. It always intimidated me. But the gallette crust looked promising.

A few days later, I needed to deliver some mail to my daughter, so we decided to meet at the Sacramento year-long farmers market. While there, I bought all kinds of fruits & vegetables, including some tomatoes.

I began wondering if I could adapt the gallette to a savory tart rather than a dessert and decided to experiment. I followed Ohiomom's crust recipe but omitted both the sugar and the salt. I also used unsalted butter. To add some flavor, I included 1/4 teaspoon each of dried thyme and ground black pepper.

For the filling I layered some chopped fresh mozzarella and grated Swiss cheese (See this earlier post about low sodium cheese). I topped the cheese with some chopped fresh tomatoes. I peeled & seeded the tomatoes, then let them drain on some paper towels while I was rolling out the crust. I sprinkled the tomatoes with chopped basil and green onion. And finally I topped it all off with my special bread crumb mix. I saute a mixture of dried breadcrumbs (about 1 cup) and 2-3 cloves of minced garlic in butter for a few minutes. Then I add about a tablespoon or two of shredded Parmesan cheese. I keep this mixture in the fridge and use it as a topping for vegetables and pasta dishes. It's a low sodium alternative to straight Parmesan cheese.

Folding over the crust edges was a cinch. I baked the tart on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet that I placed directly on a preheated baking stone. We just got through eating our first piece of tomato galette, and my husband said it was the tastiest thing he had eaten in months. So, thanks Ohiomom for the inspiration. I'm sure I'll eventually get around to making a peach gallete, but this tomato tart was wonderful. The really good news is that the recipe makes enough crust for two tarts. I only made one tonight, so guess what we'll be having for dinner tomorrow night? I can hardly wait!

Galette Dough
Ohiomom/Cooking in Cleveland
(Printable Recipe)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. sugar (I omitted for savory tart)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut up (I used unsalted)
1 egg, beaten

Combine dry ingredients, cut in butter until coarse and crumbly. Add egg and mix just until dough comes together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Divide dough in half and roll out on a floured board into 9-inch circles.

Arrange filling over dough. Fold over edges of dough. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 10 minutes, lower heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.