This summer Luke and I noticed a surge in galette popularity. Every food related Instagram account I follow posted at least one galette pic. Most posted two – a savory and a sweet. If anything, it’s a surprise galettes are not already more popular. Compared to a pie or tart, they’re way less intimidating and require no special equipment. No pie tin or tart ring necessary, all you need is a basic baking sheet. Galettes have a free form construction that allows for greater improvisation. They are also more forgiving. You don’t have to agonize over rolling the dough into a perfect circle. A little extra dough here and there can be easily remedied – just fold it over!
I’ve always been wary of gazpacho. Bad batches can end up tasting like salsa or tomato juice. Often, you have an urge to over spice it. Tomatoes, some mild veggies, a little bit of salt and vinegar – how could these ingredients be enough for a flavorful, satisfying soup? But if you start adding a little bit of heat or some extra garlic you begin to veer dangerously close to Bloody Mary sans vodka territory. No one wants a virgin Blood Mary. Lots of Americanized recipes list bread chunks or croutons in their ingredients, in order to add a little bit of thickness and texture. Or worse, they leave the soup chunky. This is called salsa. And while it’s better than a virgin Blood Mary, you don’t want to sip on salsa.
There’s still time – tomato season isn’t over yet! This is a perfect end of summer salad. It combines some of our favorite seasonal ingredients, tomato, cucumber, and basil, with year-round essentials, namely cheese (mozzarella) and bread. On self-respecting nights, when we manage not to finish off a whole baguette, we let a portion go stale and make this delicious Tuscan bread salad the next evening for dinner. Traditional panzanella calls for stale bread, uber ripe tomatoes, a dressing of olive oil and red wine vinegar, and sometimes onions and basil. This oomph-ed up version comes from our favorite lady Melissa Clark. The cucumber adds freshness and crunch and the mozzarella makes it a heartier salad, worthy of eating as a main meal instead of a side. Make sure to enjoy this salad before summer is officially over!
Ingredients:
1/3 of a baguette or rustic loaf (preferably stale) cut into 1-inch cubes
6 TBS olive oil
1 tsp salt
3 tomatoes, use a mix of varieties and colors!
6 oz mozzarella, cut or torn into bite-sized pieces
2 shallots (or 1/2 red onion) thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, grated to a paste
2 TBS red wine vinegar
1 TBS chopped fresh oregano or thyme (or a combination)
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup Persian or English cucumber, cut into thin quarter pieces
1/2 cup torn basil
1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley
1 TBS of capers, drained
Directions:
Heat oven to 425ºF. Spread bread pieces onto a baking sheet and toss with 2 TBS olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt. Bake until golden brown and dried out, about 7-15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Cut tomatoes into pieces just a bit smaller than the bread cubes. Put them into a large bowl and then thinly slice the shallots lengthwise.
Add the shallots into the bowl and use a microplane to grate 2 cloves of garlic into a paste. Along with the garlic paste, add 1 TBS vinegar, oregano or thyme, 1/4 tsp salt, and red pepper flakes.
Cut up the mozzarella into bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl, toss everything together and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine 1 TBS vinegar, mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, and black pepper. While continuously whisking, add 4 TBS olive oil one-by-one to the dressing. Stir in cucumbers, basil, and parsley.
Add bread pieces, dressing, and capers to the large bowl and mix well. Let it sit and soak for at least 30 minutes, up to 6 hours. You can keep chilled in the fridge. Add extra oil, vinegar or salt if needed!
Luke’s dad Scott is a masterful tomato grower. In a small community garden plot in Philadelphia Scott has harvested many pounds of tomatoes, a combination of varieties he carefully selects – Speckled Peach, Amish Paste, Marmande, Golden Honey Bunch are a few of his favorite. He’s truly perfected the science of tomato growing, even conducting taste tests. In past summers, Luke and I have had the privilege of enjoying Scott’s tomato bounty, making oodles of bruschetta, homemade tomato sauce, Caprese salad – gustatorily transporting ourselves to Italy. This year, in accordance with fairness and good governance, Scott’s community plot has been ceded to another gardener. And sadly, without Scott’s crop, Luke and I have completely forgotten to enjoy any of summer’s tomatoes! Thankfully, that changed this weekend. We selected three beautiful farmer’s market tomatoes and journeyed from Italy to France. This fresh, bright tomato tart makes a perfect summer lunch or light dinner. Bring to the park for a Provençal picnic!
Recipe courtesy of David Lebovitz – a classic food blogger, but new favorite!
Tart dough: Mix flour in salt in a medium sized bowl. Add the butter and use your hands or pastry blender, to break in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.
Mix the egg with 2 TBS of cold water. Make a well in the center of the dough and add the beaten egg mixture. Stir the mixture with your hands until the dough holds together. If it’s not coming together easily, add an additional TBS of water.
Form dough into a ball and transfer onto a big sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap in plastic and flatten into a disc. Refrigerate for an hour (or up to 24 hours).
Remove dough from fridge and let thaw out slightly. On a lightly floured service using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough. Rotate the dough and add more flour to surface, as needed, to ensure dough doesn’t stick. Roll out dough so that is large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 9-inch or 10-inch removable tart pan.
Transfer the dough to your tart pan and press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of your pan.
Directions – Filling:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Spread an even layer of mustard over the bottom of the tart pan and let sit for a minute or so to soak in.
Arrange the sliced tomatoes in a single layer (a little overlap is ok). Sprinkle with 1 TBS of fresh herbs and drizzle with olive oil. Top with salt and a freshly ground black pepper.
Arrange the goat cheese slices on top and sprinkling with remaining herbs.
Bake the tart for 30 minutes, until the cheese is nicely browned around the edges. Let cool for ten minutes, then enjoy! Perfect for a summer lunch.
Pig n' Pie - Food recipes and adventures 