If you ever sat next to me at a wedding where goat cheese and tomato tarts were served and I asked everyone at the table if they wanted theirs, or at book club when my friend Alison made a French apple tart and my eyes were unable to leave the tart or talk about the book until I ate a piece, you may have noticed how much I adore them. I suspect I am not alone.
I have always always wanted to make a rustic tart with my own crust, and I finally did thanks to Rustic. Joyful. Food. posting a picture of their fresh fig galette on my Instagram feed. I begged her to put the recipe up on her blog and was so happy she did (and the crust recipe was from Martha Stewart, so, sort of like sharing things found in the Bible).
I make quiches and pies all the time but usually rely on store-bought crusts. After this dish, though, I am changed forever.
I think what kept me from making it is it seemed really hard – butter chilled? Timing it right so it puffs up? What? I blame Food Network personalities for their emphasis on looking knowledgeable. Really, it is easy peasy.
The timing part really just comes down to making the dough ahead of time and then letting it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before you use it. Or overnight, in my case. Then you need to let it un-chill for about 30 minutes before rolling it out. And you better believe I am making these in large quantities and freezing them, in which case they need a lot longer to chill out (I know you probably figured that out on your own). You really just put all the ingredients in the food processor and push a button. Then chill, then roll out. In total it takes 15-20 minutes active time. I will spend 20 minutes for this heaven:
The amazing thing about galettes is that you have endless possibilities, which is wonderful for this time of year when you are trying use up all the fruits of the season. My neighbors who also have 4 kids gave me delicious peaches from their tree again this year. Last year I made peach salsa with them and brought them some on our family walk with Rob, the kids and new baby Andrew. We stayed until 9 o’clock eating the salsa and the enchiladas their other chef friend just happened to bring over too (coincidence? or the stars aligning?) and drinking Coronas and letting kids run around in the back yard. I actually snapped pictures of the peach salsa so don’t be surprised if it pops up here.
I digress…back to this years peaches. All I did was sprinkle 3 T. sugar and 1 T. flour on the peaches and layered them around the tart…
Then I added a handful of blueberries because I had a ton and they looked so pretty… and folded it up! One more reason I love rustic food is that even if it looks sort of messy and not perfect…
it is still beautiful and delicious. Very unfussy. But very, very good. The buttery sweetness makes your eyes pop, and store-boughts can’t even compare. One of the best things I have ever eaten, for sure. It totally transports you to a little french farmhouse.
And I also had a windowsill lined with tomatoes from our garden:
I thought I should make a tomato one too. The crust recipe yields enough for two, so it is practically begging to be turned into one sweet and one savory, right?
Rustic.Joyful.Food also made a tomato tart too, mine is very similar to this but I kept thinking back to the goat cheese and tomato tart, so I add some of this:
and it was heaven.
I hope these rock your world as much as they rocked mine! Now, off to edit my book (almost done!) and run while I have a nap window.
xoxo
Galette Recipes (print here):
Butter Pastry (adapted from Martha Stewart)
2 cups flour
1 cup cold cold butter cubed
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4-5 Tbsp. Water
In the bowl of your stand mixer or food processor, mix butter, flour, salt and sugar until it’s crumbly in texture, much like coarse cornmeal. Slowly stream in the water until the dough just begins to come together. Dump it all out onto a large piece of plastic wrap and form it into a flat disc, wrap it up, and chill for 30 min.
Once the dough is chilled, divide it into 2 equal parts and roll out each part to about 12 inches in diameter on a floured surface. Transfer to your lined baking sheet, and begin to arrange your filling of choice.
Tomato/Onion (adapted from Rustic Joyful Food)
2 large Heirloom or Juicy tomatoes
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
fresh torn basil, a handful
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup goat cheese sprinkled on top
drizzle of olive oil on top
1 egg beaten with a Tbsp. of water ( to brush edges, optional)
Arrange the tomato, onion and garlic in a circular pattern alternating your ingredients. Sprinkle with goat cheese, basil and liberally season with salt and pepper. Fold up the edges and pinch them to form the galette. Drizzle olive oil all over the tomato and onion. Brush the edges with egg wash and a bit more salt and pepper. Bake un-covered in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Peach Galette (you can substitute pears, plums, figs…sky is the limit):
Slice fruit and mix with 3 T. sugar and 1 T. flour. Arrange on rolled out dough and sprinkle with blueberries if desired.
Bake un-covered in a 350 degree oven for 45 min. until golden on top.
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