Heirloom Tomato Galette
WHAT IS AN HEIRLOOM TOMATO?
Put simply, heirloom tomatoes are those grown from seeds that have been passed down over generations. Farmers save seeds from the best fruit and use them to grow more from season to season. You can trace the ancestry of an heirloom tomato back decades and maybe even over a century or more. Heirloom plants must be fertilized naturally, through open-pollination, in which pollen is carried by bees, other insects, birds, wind, water, or other means in order to self- or cross-pollinate. There is no human intervention in this process, and ensures that the seeds will produce seedlings with most of the characteristics of their parent plant. There are thousands of heirloom tomato varieties. Generally, they taste a lot better than their hybrid cousins, which are the products of intentional cross breeding, mostly for commercial purposes.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds 1 kilo assortment of heirloom tomatoes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 zucchini finely grated
- 4 Tbsp of fresh thyme leaves picked
- 2 Tbsp of fresh mint chopped finely
- 1 Tbsp of Greek honey
- 4 Tbsp extra virgin Greek olive oil
- 3 oz 100 g blue cheese
- 1 puff pastry sheet defrosted and at room temperature
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 oF (200 oC).
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Trim the tomatoes and cut them into ½-inch thick slices.
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Season the tomatoes with salt, pepper and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Let them marinate for 10 minutes. Drain them in a fine-mesh sieve.
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Place the grated zucchini in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the extra moisture. Season with salt, pepper and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Roll it out the puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper to about ⅛" thickness.
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Transfer the dough with the parchment to a baking tray. Scatter the zucchini over the dough leaving an inch border around. Arrange tomatoes on the dough making sure you also leave a border. Crumble the cheese over the tomatoes.
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Mix the rest of the olive oil with the herbs and the honey. Drizzle half of the mixture over the tomatoes and cheese.
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Bring edges of dough up and over filling, overlapping as needed to create about a 1-inch border. Brush the rest of the olive oil, herbs and honey mixture on the edge (border) of the galette.
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Chill in freezer 10 minutes. Bake for about 30 – 35 minutes, or until the tomatoes are cooked and the dough puffed, golden and crisp. Serve at once.