Late summertime always brings the best tomatoes. The plants have spent most of the season soaking up the sunshine and the fruits of their labour are usually bountiful, full of sweetness and perfectly ripe for eating. This galette is a great way to use up a heap of tomatoes from the garden, or one of the great buys you can get at the local markets at this time of year. It’s great to take to picnics too, just keep the mozzarella on chilled until you’re ready to serve.
What you’ll need:
650g cherry tomatoes, halved (a mix of red and yellow)
50g unsalted butter
3 red onions, halved & thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbs honey
1 egg, beaten
125g fresh mozzarella, torn
extra virgin olive oil & fresh basil leaves, to serve
Pastry
1 ½ cups (240g) plain flour
¼ tsp salt
150g cold unsalted butter, diced
2 tbs cold water
What to do:
For the pastry, place flour, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until butter is the size of peas. Add water and pulse again until dough just comes together. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill.
Meanwhile, toss the tomatoes with half a teaspoon of salt and set aside for 15 minutes.
Heat butter in a large frypan over medium heat. Once foaming, add onions, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes until the onion is soft. Add vinegar and honey and cook for a further 5 minutes, until dark and caramelised. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 180°C and place a round baking tray in the oven to heat up.
Roll the dough out onto a large sheet of baking paper to a rough 30cm circle. Use a round tray or plate as a guide and trim the edges of the pastry. Spread the onions around the base, leaving a 4-5cm border. Drain the tomatoes, discarding any water and arrange over the top of the onions. Fold the edges of the pastry over to enclose the filling and brush the edges with egg. Transfer galette with the baking paper to a tray and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Slide the galette with the baking paper onto the hot tray in the oven. Bake on the bottom shelf for 35-40 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked through. To serve, arrange torn mozzarella over the top of the galette, scatter with basil leaves, black pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
