Heirloom Tomato Galette

Ingredients

Hazelnut pastry:

125g plain flour
100g wholemeal flour
100g whole hazelnuts
100g cold butter
2 large eggs (cold from the fridge if poss)
a good pinch of salt
a few drops of ice cold water (if necessary to bring the dough together)

Parmesan frangipane:

2 large eggs
50g almond flour
25g grated parmesan
60g softened butter
1 garlic clove
a few thyme leaves
a good pinch of salt
black pepper

Galette top:

Large heirloom tomatoes
a few thyme sprigs
extra virgin olive oil
a little extra grated parmesan
black olives
fresh ewes cheese / curd (or a soft mild goats cheese)
sea salt flakes and black pepper
soft herbs and edible flowers, if you like, e.g. fennel fronds, chive flowers, violas

Method

– Pre-heat your oven to 180C fan and toast the hazelnuts for 10 mins or until nicely browned and the skins are coming away
– Place the toasted nuts in an old tea towel and rub off the skins as much as you can
– Transfer to a food processor and blitz to create a hazelnut flour
– Make the pastry by rubbing together the flours and the cold butter to resemble breadcrumbs
– Add the eggs and bring together in to a dough, adding a drop or two of cold water if necessary
– On a surface, knead very lightly and cover in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes
– Alternatively, make the pastry in your food processor by incorporating all the ingredients and gently pulsing till it comes together into a soft dough (before turning out and wrapping / refrigerating as above)
– Meanwhile, make the parmesan frangipane by beating all the ingredients together in a bowl
– Take your rested dough and roll it out on a floured surface into a rough round shape around the thickness of a pound coin – don’t worry if the edges look a bit ragged and split this will all add to the galette’s rustic charm!
– Spread the parmesan frangipane over the middle section of the dough, sprinkle with a little extra parmesan and a few sea salt flakes and arrange thick slices of the tomatoes on top
– Pull up the sides of the pastry over the edges of the tomatoes, overlapping to create a nice sealed border
– Scatter with thyme leaves, sea salt flakes and black pepper and drizzle with olive oil
– Place into your already hot oven on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for around 40 minutes or until nicely golden and cooked through and the base has formed a nice strong crust underneath
– Place on a serving board / platter and dot with the ewes cheese, chopped black olives and scatter with herbs and flowers and a final drizzle of olive oil
– Great straight form the oven or room temperature – it’s also remarkably good the next day straight from the fridge if you have leftovers!