There are only a few ingredients which have the ability to be as delicious in their pure, unadulterated state as they are incorporated in a brilliant recipe. To me, the tomato is the ultimate ingredient for this very reason. From the moment I encountered the heirloom tomato it was love at first sight and once I tasted one, I was completely hooked. With so many incredible varieties and different flavours, it is hard not to become a little obsessed with this marvellous fruit.
I was lucky enough to be in Berkeley the first time I made this scrumptious heirloom tomato wholemeal galette, with access to some of the most delicious fresh produce at the wonderful Monterey market. This is a perfectly simple recipe to highlight the tomatoes that as I said earlier really need nothing to make them better than they are. I definitely recommend buying a bag full and eating a few as is and then using the rest for this lovely galette.
Once you’ve made this once, go crazy experimenting with different flavours. The wholemeal pastry is the perfect case for all sorts of delicious fillings.
- 250g wholemeal flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 115g chilled unsalted butter, diced
- ¼ cup crème fraiche
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup cold water
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped
- 3 medium heirloom tomatoes sliced
- 4 Tbsp goats cheese
- 2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 pinch sea salt
- Mix flour and salt in a medium bowl
- Massage the butter into the flour mixture till it resembles course meal
- In a small bowl whisk together the creme fraiche, lemon juice and cold water
- Pour this mixture into the flour mix and blend everything together with a fork
- Stir in chopped thyme
- Gather the clumps of dough into a ball without kneading
- Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and flatten a bit
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour
- Preheat the oven to 200˚C
- Unwrap the dough and press the edges so there are no cracks
- Roll the dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper till you have a 30cm circle about 5mm thick
- Place the parchment with rolled out dough on to a baking sheet before adding the filling
- Spread 3 Tbsp of the goats cheese onto the dough base stoping shy of the edge by 6cm (this will be turned up and become the sides of the galette later)
- Place sliced heirloom tomatoes in a layer on top, overlapping slightly
- Fold up the sides of the dough and press together to form a casing
- Sprinkle thyme, remaining goats cheese and a pinch of sea salt over the top
- Bake on the low shelf in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the crust is golden
- Let the galette cool for 10 min before slicing
that looks delicious! I love heirloom tomatoes.