A galette is a free-form tart that doesn’t need a tin. Its irregular shape is its rustic charm so don’t aim for perfection here.
This works just as well with shop-bought puff pastry; for the best flavour, go for an all-butter version. Eat warm or at room temperature, with a green salad on the side.
Ingredients:
- 300g all-butter puff pastry
- 1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt
- 2–3 tsp Dijon mustard
- A generous handful of grated Gruyère cheese (or use a strong farmhouse Cheddar)
- Handful of oregano or basil leaves, roughly chopped or torn
- 1 heaped tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 3 or 4 full-flavoured tomatoes, depending on their size, cored & sliced
- Olive oil
Method:
- Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll the pastry into a rough circle or square, 2–3mm thick.
- Trim the edges and lay it on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Brush all over with a thin layer of beaten egg (retaining the remaining egg for later). Spread a thin layer of mustard over the top, stopping short of the edge by about 4cm. Sprinkle the cheese over the mustard, then add the herbs. Lay over tomato slices, slightly overlapping, then drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Fold the edges over the filling to form a border – there should still be plenty of tomatoes visible. Leave the folds loose rather than squishing them down as this will help the pastry bake through in the oven.
- Chill the galette in the fridge for 20 minutes before you bake it.
- Heat the oven to 190°C/Gas 5, putting a rack near the bottom. Brush the rest of the egg over the pastry border and bake for around 40 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through and starting to brown. Undercooked pastry is horrible, so make sure you cook it long enough.
- If the tomatoes look in danger of burning, cover them with a piece of foil or baking parchment.
- Let cool for a few minutes then slide on to a board or serving plate.
For more delicious recipes like this see www.riverford.co.uk
