This balsamic cherry tomato galette takes just a few ingredients to make, and it’s packed with roasted garlic and fresh summer flavors.
What better way to get ready for summer’s end than with a recipe that’s one part summer, one part fall? It’s not that I want summer to be over. After all, I often find myself in the middle of winter wondering if I will ever be warm again. And sometimes I find myself in the summer wondering if I’ll ever be cool again.
That’s why I love fall. Crisp mornings spent on the porch, sipping hot coffee, the temperature just cool enough to warrant a light sweater. The promise of a warm kitchen full of bread and hearty meals from the oven. Fall is definitely my favorite season.
This cherry tomato galette encompasses the feeling of summer’s end: the last of the ripe summer cherry tomatoes combined with a flaky, buttery crust that reminds you that soon it’ll be cool enough to comfortably run the oven without cranking up the air conditioning.
What’s a galette?
Galettes are like a rustic, freestyle version of a tart. They just use flour, butter, and a bit of ice cold water to make a single layer of pastry crust that’s partially folded over the contents of the pastry.
I think of galettes as a kind of fancy pizza, but with butter and flaky crust. The first galette I ever made was full of chickpeas, kale, and a masala sauce. Kind of weird, but weirdly amazing? I’ll admit that you can probably put 99% of foods in a galette and it’ll taste good. I mean, it’s a buttery pasty crust. Need I say more?
How do you make a galette?
- Combine the flour, salt and cubed butter in a medium mixing bowl. Use a dough cutter or a fork (or your fingers!) to break up the dough into smaller pea sized pieces, as you would with biscuits.
- Slowly stir in the ice cold water one tablespoon at a time.
- Stir until a cohesive ball of dough forms. Let rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Roll out the dough into a 12 inch rough circle.
Here’s the thing about making galettes: they’re supposed to look “rustic”, which means that all of the imperfections in your galette are actually just part of what makes the pastry so great! Don’t worry about shaping the dough just the right way. I promise that it will taste delicious, even if it looks a little “rustic”.
You’ll love making this cherry tomato galette because it looks impressive, but it’s a pretty straightforward baking process. It’s perfect as an appetizer or as a side at a fancy dinner party.
If you love the combination of balsamic vinegar and cherry tomatoes as much as I do, check out my balsamic cherry tomato pasta. I hope you get to try this recipe out before the best of the summer cherry tomatoes are gone!
Looking for more pastries? Why not start with my perfect oil pie crust recipe.
A rustic tart made with fresh summer cherry tomatoes in a roasted garlic balsamic sauce.
- 1 pound cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 7-8 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 5-6 tablespoons ice cold water
To make the galette crust: mix together the dry ingredients (flour, salt). Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut in the cubes of butter until they are crumbly and pea sized. Mix in the ice cold water one tablespoon at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until a cohesive ball of dough forms. Let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Meanwhile, prep the filling: Slice the garlic cloves in half lengthwise. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skilled. At the garlic, cherry tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar. Saute just until the cherry tomatoes burst, about 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Mix in the fresh thyme.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry dough into a 12 inch circle. Place on a parchment paper lined sheet pan or on a preheated pizza stone.
Pour the cherry tomato filling into the center of the galette, leaving about 2 inches of a border. Fold the border in over the cherry tomatoes (see pictures for how it should look). S
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the galette is golden brown. Remove the galette from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting.
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