Tomato & Gruyere Cheese Galette with Black Onion Seeds
This is another dish I bring out a lot when I have a tons of people coming over, its especially fabulous when tomatoes are in season and there’s a lush of amazing colours on the shelves.
A mix of large and small tomatoes, all placed cut side up makes this inexpensive and easy dish look like I’ve slaved over it for hours and it has cost way more than it actually has!
My favourite touch may be the tiny black onion seeds that I scatter all over the top before baking.
If you’ve not come across these black onion seeds before, it’s time to get your hands on some.
For something so small, they add a lot of flavour, tiny seeds of rich burnt onion flavour which I use on so many savoury things as a way of ooomphing up the seasoning and of course the prettiness of it.
Go on, give it a go and enjoy your sweet life!
A rough pastry edge makes it look rustic and home made - just how i like it
What You Need
Pastry
225g Plain Flour – Plus more for dusting
100g Cold Butter – Cut into cubes
2 Eggs
1 egg for an egg wash
Pinch of salt
Cold water as needed - For pastry
A selection of tomatoes draining
Filling
500g Tomatoes – A mix of colours and sizes – See Tip Box
50g Gruyere Cheese – Cut into small pieces
1 Garlic Clove – grated
1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme – Chopped small
1 Tbsp Black Onion Seeds
2 Tsp Salt
Pinch Black Pepper
No need for pretty edges , the more rustic the better.
How It’s Done
Tomatoes
Cut all the tomatoes in half and place them into a colander.
Sprinkle the salt over the top pf the cut tomatoes and leave them aside to drain for no less than 1 hour – See Tip Box
Place the mix in the middle of the pastry
Pastry
Place the flour and salt into a food processor ad give it a quick whizz
With the food processor running, add the butter pieces one at a time
Let the food processor run until the mix looks a little like breadcrumbs.
With the food processor running, add 2 eggs.
Let the food processor run for 1 minute so that the pastry comes together into a ball.
If the dough doesn’t come together, add the cold water one tablespoon at a time, blitzing after each addition until the dough comes together into a soft dough.
Wrap the dough in cling film and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Set the oven to 180c
Line a baking tray with non-stick baking parchment
Place the drained tomatoes into a bowl along with the chopped thyme leaves, black pepper, grated garlic and the small cubes of Gruyere cheese
Give it all a mix until well combined.
Dust a clean work surface with a little flour
Unwrap the pastry and roll it out on the work surface into a rough circle or a rough rectangle - See Tip Box
Place the rolled-out pastry onto the prepared baking tray.
Place the tomato mixture in the middle of the pastry (cut side up) leaving about 1 ½ “of pastry around the edge.
Place 1 egg into a cup and beat it with a fork
Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash around the pastry edge
Wrap the edge up over the tomato mix
Brush more of the egg wash around the pastry edge
Sprinkle the black onion seeds over the top pf the tomatoes and the pastry edge
Place the tray into the hot oven to cook for 40-50 minutes until the pastry is a golden brown-See Tip Box
Sprinkle with black onion seeds for that little extra
Tip Box
Tomato – Using a selection of coloured tomatoes makes this tart even more lovely to look at
Draining – Draining the tomatoes is a really important part of this recipe. If you have time, let the tomatoes drain for as many hours as you can.
Rolling out – 1) This pastry can break pretty easily, but that’s no reason to not enjoy this galette, it’s also ok to patch the pasty together if it breaks a little.
2) I made this pastry into a rectangular shape to sit easily on my tray, but if you prefer yours round, roll it out that way.
Cooking – All ovens vary so adjust baking tie ac
Rusting and pretty at the same time ,and of course, full of flavour too
