This Heirloom Tomato Galette With Goat Cheese & Caramelized Shallots is a perfect dish to make with your heirloom tomato harvest. With its flaky crust, tangy goat cheese, savory caramelized shallots and sweet juicy tomatoes, its the perfect summer dish.
Every year come late summer when the Heirloom Tomatoes are ready, I head to my local farm and pick up a bunch. Heirloom Tomatoes are known for their less then perfect shapes and unusual colors. What they lack in appearance they make up for in taste. They are super juicy and loaded with flavor. Now they are perfect as is with a pinch of salt but I wanted to spice it up a bit and do something a bit different, so I thought a Galette would be the perfect way to use them.
Now don’t let the word Galette intimidate you, its just a fancy name for a rustic tart, meaning no fuss. Just roll out a basic pastry dough place the ingredients on top and fold over the edges. No perfect edges needed.
Now normally I would make a sweet Galette, like my Peach Galette or my Apple Galette. Rarely have I ventured into a savory one, but with these delicious tomatoes I felt it was the perfect opportunity and I must say it was definitely a keeper.
How To Make Heirloom Tomato Galette With Goat Cheese & Caramelized Shallots
I started by making my pastry. Now most people make pastry with shortening because they say that you get a much flakier crust with shortening, I disagree. I have always used cold butter and have been very successful achieving a flaky crust. The secret is to make your butter as cold as possible. In fact when I am ready to make pastry the first thing I do is cut my butter into small cubes and place them in the freezer until I’m ready for them, this way I know they are supper cold. When the butter is cold you will have a nice flaky crust. But if you still insist on using shortening, by all means do so.
To the bowl of a food processor I add my flour and salt and pulse once or twice to combine.
To the flour add the very cold cubed butter and pulse several times until the butter has broken down and the butter and flour mixture have formed a course meal.
To a glass bowl I add ice and water. Pour three to four tablespoons of ice water into the shoot of the food processor one at a time while pulsing, making sure not to over pulse. You will notice the dough starting to come together. Remove the dough from the bowl, and place it on a sheet of plastic wrap, form it into a disk and store in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
While your pastry is chilling, you can prepare your Galette filling.
Peel and slice your shallots and place them in a large frying pan. Cook over medium heat until caramelized, then set to the side and allow to cool.
Rinse and dry your tomatoes. Remove the top where the stem was attached then slice them into 1/4” slices. Then set to the side.
Preheat the oven to 375º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set to the side.
When ready to use, remove pastry from the refrigerator and allow to sit for 10 minutes to almost come to room temperature and is easier to handle. Flour your counter and rolling pin slightly. Remove pastry from plastic wrap and place on the floured surface. Roll out pastry to 1/8” thickness. Place rolled out pastry on the prepared baking sheet, ( the best way to pick up rolled out pastry is to roll it up on the rolling pin and unroll it on to your baking dish).
Crumble the goat cheese over the rolled out dough leaving roughly a 2” border along the edge. Scatter caramelized shallots on top then drizzle with honey. Layer the tomatoes on top alternating the different colors. Drizzle the top with olive oil then season with salt and pepper and top with a sprinkle of fresh thyme.
Starting on one side and making your way around, fold the edges of dough around the tomatoes, you are not looking to cover them completely. Brush the pastry with with an egg wash and place in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and there is a slight char on the tomatoes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Top with a drizzle of honey then serve.
Heirloom Tomato Galette With Goat Cheese & Caramelized Shallots
Ingredients:
For The Pastry:
- 1 1/2 Cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon salt
- 9 Tablespoons very cold butter cut into cubes
- 3 To 4 Tablespoons ice water
For The Filling:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 5 To 6 Large shallots sliced
- 8 oz. Goat cheese crumbled
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 4 To 5 Heirloom tomatoes sliced to 1/4” thickness
- Pinch of salt & Pepper
- 2 Teaspoons fresh thyme
- 1 Egg scrambled with 1 Tablespoon of water for wash
Instructions:
- To the bowl of a food processor add the flour and salt and pulse once or twice to combine. Add the very cold butter and once again pulse until it forms a course meal. Add the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time through the processor shoot and pulse after each addition until dough starts to come together. Remove dough from bowl and wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, peel and slice shallots into thin slices and place them in a large frying pan with the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the shallots until caramelized, approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Preheat oven to to 375º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set to the side.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit on the counter for 10 minutes before rolling out. Lightly flour the counter and the rolling pin. Remove dough from plastic wrap and place on the floured surface. Roll dough out to 1/8” thickness. Roll dough up onto rolling pin and unroll onto center of parchment lined baking sheet.
- Leaving a 2” boarder, top pastry with goat cheese crumbles, cooled caramelized shallots and drizzle with honey. Layer sliced tomatoes on top in a circular motion. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and season with salt and pepper.
- Starting on one side and making your way around, fold the crust over the top of the tomatoes until all the edges have been lifted, ( the crust is not meant to completely cover the tomatoes ). Brush the top of the crust with egg wash and place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes or until crust is a golden brown and tomatoes have started to char. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Drizzle with extra honey and serve.
- Enjoy.
