Tomato Galette with a Buttermilk Biscuit Crust

This galette is a bit different from the standard galette made with a pastry crust.  What sets this apart from the others is the crust is made from a buttermilk biscuit dough!  With the sudden abundance of ripe tomatoes in the garden, this was the perfect recipe.

Buttermilk Biscuit Dough:

1 3/4 cups flour, plus more for dusting/rolling

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small slices

 3/4 cup cold buttermilk (make sure to shake the carton well)

 Semolino flour

Combine all the ingredients except for the buttermilk.  Using the whisk attachment on your mixer or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles a course meal with pea size lumps of butter.  Place bowl into the refrigerator.  While chilling, prep the filling for the gallette.  Then stir in the buttermilk using a spatula.  Do not over mix.  The dough will be slightly sticky.  Knead a few times on a floured surface and roll out to around a 15" round.  Transfer the dough to a large piece of parchment paper that has been dusted with semolino flour.  Place on a large baking sheet.  Sprinkle the center area of the dough with more semolino.

Filling: 

6 - 8 medium size tomatoes, cut into 1/2" slices and placed on paper towels and        lightly salted.

4 oz. Gruyere cheese, coarsely grated

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup of finely chopped herbs (combination of basil, parsley and chives) 

Ground pepper to taste

Mix together 2 oz. Gruyere cheese, the mayonnaise and herbs along with the ground pepper.

Arrange the tomatoes, slightly overlapping on the dough, leaving a 1 1/2" border.  Sprinkle with 2 oz. Gruyere cheese.  Arrange another layer of tomatoes.  Dollop generous portions of the cheese, mayo and herb mixture over the tomatoes.  Fold the dough border over the edges of the tomatoes, pleating the dough as you go.

Bake in a 425 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden-brown.  Let cool on a wire rack before cutting into wedges.

 

 

Two of my all time favorite cities!

In the November issue of Conde Nast's Traveler magazine, two of my favorite cities were voted "Best of the World Small Cities". 

San Miguel de Allende in Mexico came in first and San Sebastián in Spain came in third.  

My first encounter to San Miguel de Allende was the summer of 1974 when I went to the Art Institute and that same summer my parents bought our first house right in the historic center of town.  And that is when my love affair with Mexico, especially San Miguel started.  I am leading another tour there in July which I filled immediately.

Once you visit San Sebastián, you will immediately fall under its spell because of its charm, the best cuisine in the world and its magnificent La Concha Bay.  I took this photo from my room's balcony at the Hotel de Londres y de Inglaterra, one of my all time favorite hotels.   My husband and I will be there next August along with a week in Barcelona.  Both places I have been countless times over the last twelve years.  When there, I will be fine tuning my "favorite lists" of restaurants, museums, sites...  For in 2024, I am planning to lead a two week tour to Barcelona and San Sebastián starting in mid August.  It will be a smaller group of six.  If interested, let me know and I will put you on the list.  I plan on having the itinerary and pricing put together once I return from Spain next September.

I may have other trips planned for next fall and 2024.  Stay tuned.

 

 "TRAVEL IS THE ONLY THING YOU BUY THAT MAKES YOU RICHER"