The Tomato + Three Cheese Galette of YOUR DREAMS
Salt, butter, flour and water - the basis of heaven
The first galette I ever made was years ago and the recipe was from queenie Ina Garten, also known as the Barefoot Contessa. It was a a zucchini and goats cheese number and the flavour knocked me outta the park, as do most of her recipes. Separate from the combo of zucchini and goats cheese, I was more delighted in mastering the general basis of a dough that could be applied to both a savoury and sweet ‘pie’ dish. I wished I investigated this concept earlier as I thought about all the possible things that could be made now that I knew all I needed was a flour, water, salt and butter to make a crumbly, crunchy and creamy crust.
Fast forward to now whilst I am in Italy and staying by the salty sea, I was in charge of cooking some friends dinner. I am currently a week in of being in Italia and eating full time pasta, paninis and pizza - which means that for dinner I was wanting something different. Still carbs (of course!) but I couldn’t eat or serve pasta tonight, I just couldn’t do it - blasphemy from Pasta Mama huh!?
Standing in front of the bright blue plastic produce crates at the local deli, I scan across my options as I think about what to make. I could char some eggplant or make stuffed zucchinis, maybe get some beef and make a lasagne? Then as I scanned past the stone fruit (grabbing a bag of course) and onto the 6 boxes of tomatoes. All different varieties, all different shades and all different sizes. Well, we are in the land of the tomato! I don’t even need to touch them to know that they are all perfect and all yum and with that thought, a tomato gallete became the hero of our dinner - I decided.
I grab a handful of each different tomato variety, rustle together some flour and butter and make my way to best isle in the shop: THE CHEESE! It would be offensive to not grab some parmesan, ricotta and fresh mozzarella because why use one when you can use three? I grab some extra things for our side dishes of fried zucchini with lemon and ricotta and a rocket salad with balsamic, pear, shallots and parmesan. Now that I type this out, this dinner combo might be top 3 dinner rotations of my life. Hitting all the nodes of yum in my opinion.
I drag my grocery bags up SIX flights of very long stairs (but the view and worth it!!) and fling the ingredients on the mosaic dining table. I throw back an entire bottle of water, acting as if I was just stranded in the dessert and had just discovered the Oasis. I enter the kitchen in my wet togs ( or ‘bikinis’ for anyone who doesn’t understand Aussie lingo) and my friends arrive right on cue, apparently they want to watch me make the whole thing (the dough) from start to finish. I agree but only if they don’t talk to me when I am concentrating - it’s my biggest pet peeve when I am cooking and have to pay intention. So, we put on an Italian cooking playlist whilst they catch up with each other and I whip up this meal, eavesdropping every few minutes to their yapping.
The most wonderful aspect of this gallete dish is that once you have a general understanding of the ingredients and the recipe, you can make and endless array of varieties based on what veggies, dairy, sauces and herbs you have. It’s the most flexible, easy and CHEAP dish to master and once you nail the consistency the dough, you won’t need to remember much of an exact recipe with measurements, because you know how that pastry is meant to look and feel. The biggest advantage though to this dish is how it tastes and how it looks once its cooked and presented. A fool proof recipe that is guaranteed to impress your mates and your family.
Whilst our tomato galette cooked in the oven I whipped up the two sides dishes and we packed a little picnic bag, taking our meal down to my apartments water edge to catch the sunset. I cut up the galette and popped open the mozzarella bag, tearing little bits to sit on top of the tomatoes, finishing it of course with the classic Maldon salt sprinkle. I spread out the ricotta and layered the fried zucchinis on top with some lemon zest and salt, mixed the salad with extra balsamic vinegar and spooned portions onto four plates, handing them over to my friends.
Barefoot in bikinis and cooking the simplest of foods with the lushest of ingredients is the ‘happy place’ of my human soul. I love that having access to this dough recipe in my tweeny little brain whilst scouring the mini markets of the Mediterranean and their magic produce, allows for one of my greatest meals to be cooked and formed, and for the people I enjoy being around. BINGO!
I hope you enjoy this delicious recipe as you are reminded of what can be made with juuuuuustttt a little bit of butter, salt, flour and water!!
With love, chaos & rigatoni,
PM x
P.S. There are a few different versions of a galette recipe out there and I have pulled in a few other ingredients and techniques from multiple recipes to show you the one I use.
YA NEED:
300g tomato
1/2 cup grated parmesan or pecorino
1 stick of cold butter or 200g
2 cups plain flour
Maldon Salt
Olive oil
Pepper
3 tablespoons of smooth ricotta
1 ball of fresh mozzarella
120g chilled water
Basil (fresh or dried works)
YA DO:
Cut your butter into cubes about 1cm thick. In a bowl add flour, 2 teaspoons of Maldon salt and your cubes of butter (leave one cube aside for later). If you have an electric mixer, beat them on high until little balls are formed like peas. If you don’t have a mixer like me in Italy, then with your hands rub together the mixture flour + salt+ butter with you fingertips until combined into pea size.
Pour the cold water (make sure its cold otherwise the butter will melt) into the dough and mix together lightly until all combined, add in your grated parmesan or pecorino and mix lightly again and then form a dough ball. Place plastic wrap over a bowl with the dough inside and put in the fridge for 45-60 minutes. Pre heat the oven on 180 degrees.
Whilst the dough is in the fridge, slice up your tomatoes and lay them on a tray, give them a sprinkle of salt. Grab an oven tray and use the butter cube put aside to rub onto the bottom of the oven tray to make it non stick, place the cube to the side.
Remove the dough from the fridge and place the ball in the middle of the oven tray. Using your fingertips, press dough down to make a large circle, about the size of a medium pizza. Use a the back of a spoon to spread the ricotta onto the circle of pastry, leaving a 2-3 cm edge with no ricotta.
Layer your tomatoes on top of the ricotta, filled up the gaps with different tomato sizes. Once tomatoes are all in place, using the aid of a knife or spatula, fold up the edges of the pastry towards the centre, don’t worry about it being too neat as this dish can look spectacular in its ‘rustic-ness’. Sprinkle some olive oil on top of the tomatoes, add some pepper and final sprinkle of salt. Use the final cube of butter to rub along the edges of the gallete before putting in the oven for 20-35 minutes or until the edges are brown and crunchy.
Before cutting, tear up the fresh mozzarella and place on top of the tomatoes with some basil, a teeny hit of salt and pepper. Serve with a fresh greens salad and en-JOY!!!
