An easy, seasonal, fresh Tomato Galette to make in the summer when all the produce has the best flavor. Crisp and buttery shortcrust pastry is folded over a homemade pesto and layered with fat slices of juicy tomatoes for the most delicious al fresco lunch recipe.
A galette is an easy, open French tart where the pastry is simply rolled out and folded inwards over a filling of fresh fruit or vegetables. The key is to avoid soggy pastry, and I'll give you all my tips for a crisp galette base.
Jump to:
🛒 Ingredients
Galette crust
- Butter - use good quality unsalted butter.
- Plain flour - or all purpose flour.
- Egg yolk - plus extra egg for an egg wash.
- Water - make sure it is very cold.
- Salt and cracked black pepper
Pesto
- Basil - use fresh basil leaves, never dried basil in pesto.
- Pine nuts - toast them first to get a deeper, richer flavor.
- Dried thyme - I like to add this to the pesto for this tomato galette as it works really well with the flavor profile.
- Parmesan cheese - you can also use Pecorino, Grana Padano, or any other hard Italian cheese in pesto.
- Garlic powder - just a pinch!
- Extra virgin olive oil - a decent EVOO will always do you well in the kitchen.
- Lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
Tomato filling
- Large tomatoes - I use heirloom/heritage varieties for color variation.
- Salt - we need to salt the tomatoes ahead of time for at least 30 minutes to let them release their excess juices.
- Extra basil and pine nuts - for garnish
To speed things up, use store-bought shortcrust pastry and buy pesto. But this recipe is super speedy, and nothing beats homemade pesto and DIY buttery pastry!
See the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for full quantities and step-by-step directions on how to make tomato galette.
👩🏼🍳 Instructions
Galette crust
If you are making your own galette shortcrust, start with this.
Cut the butter into cubes, place it into a glass mixing bowl, and wait for it to soften slightly.
Sift the flour on top of the butter and add a generous pinch of flaky salt. Rub the butter and flour together with your fingertips until it resembles coarse sand. Do this quickly to avoid melting the butter.
Mix the egg yolk and cold water together and add half of it to the butter/flour mixture whilst mixing it all in with your fingertips. Then add it a teaspoon at a time until the dough comes together into a ball and there are no loose crumbs on the bottom of the bowl. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Pesto filling
Toast the pine nuts in a frying pan until light golden brown. Blend them with fresh basil leaves, garlic powder, grated cheese, dried thyme, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
You want the pesto to have a pretty thick consistency, so be mindful of adding too much oil and lemon juice at first.
Leave a few pine nuts and basil leaves behind to garnish your fresh tomato galette.
Bake your galette
- Spread pesto over the base of the pastry, leaving a margin around the edges. Layer the tomatoes on top and then fold the pastry inwards.
- Brush the visible bits of pastry with egg wash and bake for around 40 minutes until it is golden brown. If it browns too fast, cover the edges with foil.
Tips to avoid soggy galette
The layer of pesto on the base of the galette crust will help prevent soggy pastry, and it is essential to salt the tomatoes for at least 30 minutes first, too.
🍽 How to serve
Wait for around 15-30 minutes before slicing up the galette and serving with a crisp green salad. Sometimes, I'll tear up some mozzarella or Burrata to serve on top and perhaps drizzle some extra pesto on, too.
🍷Wine Pairing
A crisp rosé from Provence is the best wine to serve with tomato galette, and it's what I serve when I make this recipe for my private chef clients in the South of France. Otherwise, a Vermintino or another fresh, acidic white wine.
🥣 Equipment
Galette is so easy; you really just need a bowl and an oven tray. It is so helpful to salt the tomatoes first, though, and doing it in a sieve can help the juices drip through underneath, and you can pat the top dry with kitchen paper.
❄️ Storage and Freezing
Store leftover tomato galette in an airtight container in a cool, dry place and finish it within 2-3 days. It does not need to be refrigerated. Do not freeze it; it will become very soggy!
📝 More summer recipes
Looking for other recipes to serve with tomato galette? Try these:
Have you tried this recipe?
If you make this recipe, I'd love to hear how it went! Please leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well. Your feedback helps other readers and is greatly appreciated.
📖 Recipe
Fresh Tomato Galette
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6-8 Large tomatoes
Shortcrust pastry
- 115 grams (½ cup) butter
- 230 grams (2 cups - 2 tbsp) plain flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg yolks
- 3-8 tablespoon (3 tablespoon) water
Pesto filling
- 40 grams (1 cup) Basil
- 50 grams (¼ cup) Parmesan cheese (grated) or other hard Italian cheese
- 25 grams (1 cup) Pine nuts
- 1 teaspoon (5 tablespoon) Dried thyme
- ½ tablespoon Lemon juice
- 30 ml Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
Instructions
Make the shortcrust pastry
- Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and add the butter in 1-inch cubes. Use your fingertips to quickly rub the butter and flour together until the mixture resembles coarse sand with no large clumps of butter.
- Mix the egg yolk and cold water together and add half of it to the flour/butter mixture, swirling it in with one of your hands. Add more of the egg yolk/water one tablespoon at a time, until the pastry comes together into a ball with no crumbs left at the bottom of the bowl. Wrap in plastic food wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Roll the pastry out into a circle on a piece of parchment paper
- Transfer the parchment paper onto a baking tray, cover it, and chill it again until you are ready to assemble the galette and bake.
Salt the tomatoes
- Slice the tomatoes into rounds and place them into a sieve over a bowl or tray, layered with salt. Leave them for 30 minutes to draw out excess moisture. Pat them dry with paper towels to soak up as much as you can.
Make the pesto
- Toast the pine nuts by tossing them in a frying pan over medium heat until lightly golden, then allow them to cool.
- Blend the pine nuts, grated cheese, lemon juice, garlic powder, basil leaves, olive oil, and dried thyme until you have a thick paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Baking the galette
- Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius / 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spread a layer of the pesto over the pastry, leaving a 1-2 inch margin around the edges.
- Add the tomatoes on top of the pesto, adding 3-4 layers.
- Fold the edges of the pastry in over the tomatoes. Brush the pastry with an egg wash and bake immediately for around 45 minutes. If the pastry browns too fast, add some foil in a ring over the edges of the galette to protect it and return to the oven.
- Allow the tart to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Comments
No Comments