If you are looking for a flavorful departure from your typical fare, the Tomato Goat Cheese Galette is an intensely delicious choice that will keep your mouth watering.
Why You Should Make This Recipe
I love a good pie, whether that takes the shape of pizza or dessert. A galette isn’t really a pie, but it incorporates a tasty pie crust in a rustic shape that leaves you with a sort-of free form tart. They are simple to make and pleasing to the eye, as well as the stomach.
I like to use goat cheese for its rather distinct flavor, but if you aren’t a fan of goat cheese, you can modify this recipe to your tastes. Feta or fresh mozzarella cheese would also work well in this galette recipe.
Ingredients
- Pie Dough- I have my favorite recipe, but just know you can also just buy it if you want to save on time.
- Tomatoes - sliced
- Goat Cheese - or your favorite alternative, such as feta or fresh mozzarella
- Spices - basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper
- Salt and Pepper
- Egg
- Milk
How To Make
Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. If you have the ability to use convection on your oven, set it to convection.
Line your baking sheet with parchment paper to make cleanup easier. Then roll out your dough to about 18 or 20 inches across in a circular shape. It doesn’t have to be perfect around the edges.
Next, spread your goat cheese on the circular dough, leaving some space around the edges. You should leave at least 1-2 inches. Then sprinkle your spices on top of the cheese.
Once all your spices and cheese have been added to the dough, it’s time to add the tomatoes. I layered them over one another in a circular fashion to cover the cheese and spices below.
Then once all your toppings are on the galette, begin to fold the edges of the dough over the top of the toppings. Don’t worry about perfecting the edges. The galette is meant to look rustic and imperfect.
Make an egg wash and brush over the edges of the galette if you’d like a beautiful golden finish on your galette. You can omit this step if you don’t want to bother, but I like the way it looks when it’s done.
Bake until the edges are golden brown. You can choose to serve it right away while it’s warm, which is my preference, or later after it has cooled down.
Notes
- How many tomatoes you’ll need depends on how large the tomatoes are. You can cut up 4-5 smaller tomatoes or 2-3 larger ones.
- Make your pie crust ahead of time to give it plenty of time to chill. If you do make it the day you plan to make your galette, be sure to give it at least two hours to chill.
- Don’t stress too much about the appearance of the galette. They are meant to look rustic and quite frankly, that’s what I love about them!
FAQ
Galette is the French word for this type of pastry, while crostata is Italian. They are simply different terms for a very similar dish.
There are simple ways of doing this. The easiest is to sprinkle some semolina flour, bread crumbs, or even crushed corn flakes on the bottom before you place the cheese, spices, and tomatoes on the crust. This will help prevent the bottom of the crust from soaking in the tomato juices.
I just use a baking sheet, but there are some other options. A pizza stone, for example, will create a really crispy bottom if you have access to one.
Other Galettes and Pies
Tomato and Goat Cheese Galette
Ingredients
- ½ batch pie dough
- 4-5 tomatoes, sliced This will depend on the size of the tomatoes, if they are large beef steaks, it will only take 2-3.
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- ½ teaspoon basil
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
Egg wash
- 1 egg beat
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees, on convection if you have it.Line baking sheet with parchment paper.Roll pie dough to about an 18-20 inch circle.Spread with goat cheese. Make sure to leave about a 1 ½-2 inch space around the edges of the dough.Sprinkle the basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, and salt. Layer tomatoes on top of goat cheese. Fold the 2-inch space left without cheese and tomatoes over the tomatoes. Don't worry about perfection here, galettes are meant to look rustic. It's one of the things I love about them.Mix your egg wash and brush the edges with it. You don't have to do this step, but it sure makes it beautiful after baking. Bake until the dough is golden brown. Remove from oven. I prefer it warm, so I serve right away. Tomatoes will have released plenty of liquid when they are baking, there are ways around this. I don't mind it though, tomatoes in my mind are supposed to be juicy. Now, sit back and enjoy. You deserve it.
Nancy Swallow Somerfeld says
Amy, I have made this with smoked mozzarella and it was delish!
admin says
That is great idea!! I am going to have to give that a try!