Tomato & Shallot Galette

Celebrate the last of summer tomatoes with this absolutely outstanding Tomato & Shallot Galette! It’s that weird time between summer and fall when we still have some summer produce left, and this galette is the perfect way to use it up. Crispy pastry is topped with a layer of herby, creamy, goat and parmesan cheese, caramelized shallots, and colorful heirloom tomatoes, making a crave-worthy bake that you’ll be thinking about until next summer.

Tomato, Tomahto

Tomatoes are one of those fruits (yes, they’re technically fruits, not vegetables) that can be surprisingly polarizing. In the U.S., we add tomatoes to our sandwiches, on our pizza, in salads, and even mix them with cilantro, onions, and lime to make pico de gallo for our taco plates. Many of us also eat them by themselves with a little salt for seasoning. 

But we’ve been around long enough to know that not everyone loves tomatoes. In fact, one of us is kind of picky when it comes to tomatoes. She likes them on sandwiches and burgers and as pico de gallo for tacos, but isn’t a huge fan of eating tomatoes by themselves or as the main ingredient for a dish. 

All of that pickiness disappears where this Tomato & Shallot Galette is concerned, however. This galette highlights the best qualities of summer tomatoes: their sweet, fresh flavor. The caramelized shallots and herby cheese only enhance the tomatoes, providing balance and richness to round out the sweet tang of the fruit. Add all of those flavors to beautiful, flaky pastry and you’ve got yourself a killer tomato dish. 

Ingredients in the Pastry Dough

This pastry dough is perfectly flaky and not at all bland. It’s an all-butter pastry that is seasoned just well enough that it stands on its own, but doesn’t overshadow any pie toppings or fillings. As most standard all-butter crusts, you’ll need:

• Flour – this recipe uses all-purpose flour, which we measure using the spoon and level method. 
• Salted butter – this recipe uses frozen salted butter that you grate into the flour to make the pastry extra flaky. The salt in the butter is where the flavor comes from, so we highly recommend it over unsalted butter. 
• Sea salt – we add a little extra salt to give the pastry dough even more savory notes. If you’re watching your salt intake, you can reduce this slightly, but it will result in a less flavorful crust.
• Sugar – a good pastry dough should have just a little sugar in it, even if you’re using the pastry for a savory dish like this one. The sugar helps the dough brown slightly while balancing out the salty notes. 
• Ice water – this helps bring the dough together. It’s important to use ice water so that you don’t melt the butter when you mix it in.

The Tomato & Shallot Galette Toppings

Once you make the pastry dough, it’s time to make everything that will go on top, including the herby cheese layer, caramelized shallots, and fresh summer tomatoes. 

Herby Cheese Spread

We like to add something relatively dry on top of the pastry when we’re making galettes, especially when the other toppings will be more wet. This helps protect the pastry and keep it from getting too  soggy when it cooks. For this galette, we spread a layer of herby cheese on top of the pastry, which helps protect the pastry and provide added creaminess and flavor. To make it, you’ll need:

• Three cheeses – the combination of soft goat cheese, mild cream cheese, and nutty parmesan goes super well with the ripe tomatoes.
• Fresh herbs – we use fresh thyme and chives here to add savory and slightly sharp notes to the galette.
• Salt and pepper – just a little salt and pepper helps enhance the cheesy flavors.

Caramelized Shallots

Shallots are generally milder and sweeter than most onions, making them the perfect allium to caramelize and add to this galette. Making caramelized shallots (or onions) only requires a few ingredients, plus a lot of patience. You’ll need:

• Shallots – if you don’t like shallots or can’t find them, you can use sweet or yellow onions instead. You’ll probably need 1 large or 2 small-to-medium onions in place of the shallots. 
• Water – the key to caramelizing shallots (or onions) more quickly is to use water. Adding water throughout the process helps them get jammy more quickly.
• Butter – you could also use oil, if you prefer, but we like the flavor of butter with the shallots. 
• Salt and pepper – waiting to season the shallots until the end also helps them caramelize faster and more evenly.

The Remaining Tomato & Shallot Galette Ingredients

You’re almost there! All that’s left to gather for this delicious dish are the following: 

• Heirloom tomatoes
• Egg wash – an egg wash is simply an egg beaten with a splash of water. Brushing this onto the edges of the galette crust will make them golden brown and shiny. It’ll also help the parmesan cheese (see the next list item) to stick. 
• Extra parmesan – add some parmesan to the egg washed edges of the crust for cheesy perfection.
• Thyme – fresh thyme is the perfect addition to this galette.
• Flaky sea salt and cracked black pepper – sprinkle these onto the baked galette, especially on top of the tomatoes, for enhanced flavor
• Hot honey – we like to drizzle some hot honey over our individual servings of the galette once it’s baked. This is optional but highly recommended.

How to Make the Tomato & Shallot Galette

Now it’s time to put it all together.

The Dough

The first step for making this galette is to put together the pastry dough. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, and sugar. Grate the frozen butter on the large side of a box grater and mix it into the flour using a pastry blender or your fingers. Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough just comes together into a crumbly mixture. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and bring together into a large disc. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 2 to 3 hours to chill. 

Prepare the Fillings

After the dough has chilled for a while, cook the shallots in a pan with a tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Season the shallots with a pinch of salt, then cook for 20 to 25 minutes, adding about 2 tablespoons of water every 5 minutes or so to help the shallots get jammy. 

Place the sliced tomatoes onto paper towels or clean kitchen towels and salt to bring out their moisture. After about 15 minutes, turn them over and do the same thing with the other side. Pat them down to remove the moisture and excess salt before using.

Add cream cheese, goat cheese, parmesan, and a pinch of salt to a food processor and blitz until combined. Place the cheese mixture in a bowl and fold in the herbs.

Assemble and Finish

Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out into a 14 inch circle. Place the rolled out dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and into the fridge for another 20 minutes.

Place a second baking sheet into the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F with the baking sheet inside.

Remove the dough from the fridge and assemble the galette on the same baking sheet. Cover the dough with the cheese spread first, leaving about a 2 inch border around the edges of the dough.

Distribute the caramelized onions on top of the cheese spread.

Next, layer the tomatoes, and sprinkle with thyme. Fold the edges of the dough toward the middle of the galette, creating a 1 to 2 inch wide crust. Brush egg wash onto the crust, then sprinkle parmesan cheese over the egg wash and refrigerate the galette for another 10 minutes.

Finally, transfer the parchment paper with the galette onto the other, pre-heated baking tray. 

Place this baking tray in the oven on the bottom rack. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. If it’s browning too quickly, you can cover the edges of the galette with aluminum foil. 

Let the galette rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Garnish with flaky sea salt, black pepper, more thyme, and hot honey.