Devour The Blog: Cooking Channel's Recipe and Food Blog

Fresh Tomato and Mozzarella Galette

We’re teaming up with other food and garden bloggers to host Summer Fest 2010, a season-long garden party. Each week we’ll feature favorite garden-to-table recipes and tips to help you enjoy the bounty, whether you’re harvesting your own goodies or buying them fresh from the market. To join in, check out awaytogarden.com.

It really doesn’t get much better than a summer tomato.  I may be a little biased: I grew up eating tomatoes straight from the garden, warm from the sun.  Since then, I’ve had a hard-and-fast two-tomato-a-day rule every tomato season.  Sure, I love tomato salads, BLTs and simple, garlicky sauce, but this summer, my favorite way to reach my daily quota is a slice of tomato galette.

Galette is French for “free-form rustic tart,” and English for “the lazy baker’s pie.”  There’s even a French children’s song about the baked good that translates something like this: “I like galette, do you know how? When it is made well, with butter inside.”

I like galette, too!  Just roll out half of your favorite pie crust recipe (not a federal offense if you want to buy yours), layer in some fruit, veggies, herbs and maybe cheese, and fold over the edges. No latticing or fluting required.

A tomato galette is like the love child of a margherita pizza and a cheesy, savory tomato pie (like the one James Beard made famous). The crisp, buttery crust tastes like a pie, but the bubbly mozzarella cheese and roasted tomatoes on top are all pizza.

To make the galette, I layered tomatoes (I used a red and a green one from my CSA), and fresh mozzarella slices in a circle, then topped with fresh basil, red pepper flakes and some olive oil. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the crust is brown and cheese is bubbly. I used this recipe from Food Network’s Pat and Gina Neely as inspiration.

The Finished Galette

Another galette bonus: You can use the other half of the dough to make a another rustic tart filled with jam, fresh fruit or, of course, more tomatoes.

What’s your go-to summer tomato recipe? Join the discussion on twitter with the hashtag #summerfood.

More Summer Tomato Ideas With Friends and Family:

• Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef: Heirloom Tomato Tart with Parmesan Crust
• Nicole at Pinch My Salt: What to Do With Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
• Alison at Food2: Heirloom Tomatoes
• The FN Dish: Tyler’s Ultimate Tomato Salads
• Margaret at A Way to Garden: More Than One Way to Ripen a Tomato
• Gilded Fork: Celebrating summer lusciousness with a Tomato Dossier and Recipes
• Diane and Todd at White on Rice Couple: Sun-dried Tomatoes (Actually made in the sun!)
• Paige at The Sister Project: 3 Substantial, Healthy, Vegetarian Tomatoey Main Dishes
• Kelly at Just a Taste: Tomato Jam
• Alexis at Food Network UK: The Seven Deadly Tomato Sins
• Michelle at Healthy Eats: Top 10 Things to Do With Tomatoes

Tags: galette Summer Fest 2010 tomatoes