Simple Tomato Galette with Ricotta

This simple tomato galette is full of fresh basil, ricotta, and of course, tomatoes!

Wrapped in an herb-cheese crust, tomatoes mixed with garlic and olive oil pair perfectly with a ricotta filling. This galette has all the flavors of a pizza, but in a slightly more elegant form. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll be hooked.

One of the lovely things about this galette is that you can serve it for any meal. For breakfast, you can eat it warm with a side of eggs. For lunch, you can enjoy it cold with a summery salad. In the evening, you can serve it either as an appetizer or dinner. However you choose to serve it, this tomato galette won’t disappoint!

What makes a Galette a Galette?

Interestingly, the word “galette” means “flat cake” in Norman. Today, a galette is typically a rustic French pastry made of pie dough topped with various fillings. Bakers fold the edges of the pie crust around the filling to prevent it from spilling out.

Galettes can be either savory or sweet, depending on the fillings that you use. Some examples of dessert galette fillings include blueberry, peach, or apple. For savory galettes, you can use vegetables such as mushrooms, spinach, potatoes, carrots, or tomatoes.

What are the 3 types of Galettes?

The most common type of galette is the one mentioned above: pie dough filled with sweet or savory toppings, and the crust is folded around the edges. This is the version I used to make for this recipe.

The Galette Bretonne uses a buckwheat crepe instead of pie crust and is full of savory fillings such as eggs, ham, and cheese. Generally, you can find this version of a galette in Brittany, France.

The Galette de Rois consists of puff pastry layers filled with almond cream. Traditionally, this galette is served in France to celebrate when the Wise Men came bringing gifts to baby Jesus. Sometimes the chef will hide a small present in the pastry to remember the Wise Men’s generosity.

Tips for Making a Tomato Galette

• I like to use Sourdough Pie Crust for the galette crust, but feel free to use your own recipe if you like. Making your own crust is preferable to using a pre-made crust because you can add in herbs and cheese to the dough. I added parmesan and oregano to my crust dough for extra flavor, but you can use other herb/cheese combinations if you like.
• One of the wonderful things about this galette is that you can prepare it ahead of time and then keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it. You probably don’t want to leave it in the refrigerator for more than a day because the filling might make the crust soggy, but you could make it in the morning and then bake it for dinner.
• Galettes are meant to look rustic, so don’t worry if you’re having trouble making the crust or filling look perfect. You will impress your friends with how delicious your galette is – they won’t care if the edges are a bit uneven in places. 🙂
• If you want to give your galette crust an extra shine, you can brush the crust with an egg wash before you bake it. Simply beat one egg with a little water and spread it over the crust right before you put it in the oven.

Tools You will Need:

When making this galette, you will need:

• Rolling pin
• Parchment paper
• Saran wrap
• Baking tray

Ingredients You will Need:

To make this simple tomato galette, you will need:

• 2 fresh Roma tomatoes
• 3/4 cup ricotta
• 3/4 cup parmesan
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 10 leaves of fresh basil
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 batch Sourdough Pie Crust
• Pepper

How to Make a Simple Tomato Galette:

The first step is to prepare the herb-cheese crust:

Make 1/2 batch of Sourdough Pie Crust, adding in 1/4 cup of parmesan and 1 tsp oregano to the dough. Wrap in saran wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour. You can keep the crust in the fridge for a day or two or in the freezer for up to two weeks if you aren’t planning to bake your galette immediately.

Next, prepare the fillings:

Slice the tomatoes into rounds about 1/4″ thick. Place in a bowl with the olive oil and minced garlic, and season with pepper. Chop the basil and mix in half of it with the tomatoes. Stir everything together carefully so that you don’t mess up the shape of the tomatoes and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the ricotta with 1/4 cup parmesan, 1 tsp oregano, and the rest of the chopped basil.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, using the convection setting on your oven if you have it. I find the convection setting helps bake my galette more evenly, but even if you don’t have a convection oven, your galette will still turn out just fine.

Take the herb-cheese crust out of the fridge. On a piece of parchment paper, roll out the crust into a large circle, about 12″-14″ wide. Use a spoon to spread the ricotta filling on top of the crust, leaving about a 1″ space between the filling and the edge of the crust.

Layer the tomatoes on top of the ricotta filling in an overlapping pattern. Pour any oil left in the bowl over top of the galette.

Fold the edges of the crust around the filling. It doesn’t need to be perfect; galettes are meant to look rustic. 🙂 Sprinkle the rest of the parmesan over top of the galette.

Bake the galette for 40 minutes, until the crust is golden and flaky and the cheese is melted. If you like, you can garnish your galette with more freshly chopped basil. Let it cool for a few minutes and then enjoy!

Did you enjoy this recipe? Find other delicious meal ideas at the Kitchen Counter!

How did your Tomato Galette turn out? Let me know in the comments below!