If I could eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would be this Summer Tomato Galette. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. The crust is flakey with a subtle cheese flavor, the summer tomatoes are perfectly caramelized, and the ricotta mixture adds creaminess and a whole lot of flavor. This recipe may look a little intimidating, but I can assure you that if you read it over before starting, you can easily do it.
The crust is an all butter pie crust, with the addition of cheese. The cheese adds a ton of flavor to this dish. It calls for 8-10 tablespoons of butter, meaning you can decide how flakey you want it to be. More butter equals having a flakier crust. I've classified this galette as a summer recipe since tomatoes are the juiciest and sweetest in the summer. Of course you can make this all year round, but it won't taste as great as it did in the summer since it won't be tomato season. When making the ricotta mixture, you can follow the recipe below or you can experiment with it a little to personalize it. I do recommend sticking to using 1 cup of ricotta and ¾ cup parmesan cheese, but other than that, play around with it and see what you like best.
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes (plus chilling)
SERVINGS: 8
INGREDIENTS:
Crust:
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour (150 grams)
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
8-10 tablespoons of cold cubed butter
3-6 tablespoons ice water
Filling:
1 cup whole-milk ricotta
¾ cup parmesan cheese (plus more for sprinkling)
2 large heirloom tomatoes
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil or chili oil (plus more for drizzling)
4 cloves of garlic (grated)
Handful of fresh chopped basil
A couple sprigs of fresh thyme
Salt (to taste)
Freshly ground pepper (to taste)
RECIPE:
Making the crust: In a food processor, combine the flour, parmesan cheese, and salt. Then add in the butter and pulse until pea-sized pieces start to form. Do not pulse for more than 10 seconds at a time. Slowly add in ice water until the dough just comes together. Remove from the food processor, pat it into a disk, wrap in saran wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. While the dough is chilling, make the filling.
Prepping the tomatoes: Cut the heirloom tomatoes into half inch round slices. Lay the tomatoes on half a kitchen towel, salt them lightly, and fold the other half over the tomatoes. Pat them dry and let them sit in the towel so some of the water comes out while you work on the cheese filling.
Making the cheese filling: Mix the ricotta, parmesan, oil, garlic, basil, and thyme together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Assembly: Line the pan or tray you are baking the galette in with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Remove the dough from the fridge and flour your work surface well. Roll the dough out into a 12 inch circle. Transfer it to your baking pan. Spread the entire ricotta mixture on the crust, make sure to leave a 2 inch border around it (you will be folding over this border later). Add a layer of tomatoes right on top of the ricotta. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper. Sprinkle some cheese, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and thyme on top. Repeat with the rest of the tomatoes. Fold the 2 inch border over the tomatoes. If there are any rips, patch them up by using your fingers and pinching the dough. Chill the galette the freezer for 15 minutes and preheat the oven to 400° F.
Baking and Serving: After you remove the galette from the freezer, brush it with olive oil and sprinkle some cheese on top. Then bake for 35-45 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Let it cool for at least an hour before serving. You can warm it up for a couple minutes before serving if it is too cold. Before serving, top with some freshly chopped basil and some thyme. Consider serving it with a drizzle of basil oil (put olive oil and basil in the food processor and pulse) or cherry hot peppers.