Recipe- Crispy Tomato Pie

This tomato galette may look fancy but it’s the perfect brunch recipe. Made with a whole wheat crust, topped with pesto and sliced heirloom tomatoes, everyone in your family will be reaching for a slice! The crust generates crispy ends, and the tomato melts in your mouth.

When was the last time you treated yourself to a home-made luxurious, fancy and yet healthy meal? Well, it had been a while since I had and after so long I was feeling fancy because I went to Karen Anand’s Farmers Market in Bangalore. There was the smell of freshly brewed coffee which had a calming effect on me, a sizzle from the barbecue where chicken wings were browning, and fresh, fresh produce.

All of this made me want to get back to my kitchen and cook something for myself that I’d enjoy. So, I picked up a pack of green Heirloom Tomatoes. What are they, you ask? Well, they are open-pollinated, non hybrid tomatoes. It’s a slightly different variety from the ones generally available at the market and because they aren’t hybrid, they just taste better – fresher, juicier, and with a slight tang. The more you use them, the tougher it is to get back to the regular tomatoes available at markets easily.

Ingredients

60 g All Purpose Flour or Maida
60 g Whole Wheat Flour or Atta
1 tsp Salt
50 g Unsalted Butter , cut into small pieces
1 tsp Thyme Fresh or Dried
4 - 5 tbsps Water Ice-cold
2 tbsps Pesto
1 tbsp Cream Cheese
1 Heirloom Tomato , Sliced
to Taste Salt
Black Pepper Freshly ground
A few Basil Additional leaves of for garnishing
Egg Wash for brushing

Method

* For the dough

* Add all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt, butter and thyme to a food processor. Pulse till the mixture resembles bread crumbs.

* Keep pulsing while adding the water till the mixture just about comes together. Transfer this to a work surface, and knead together for 20 seconds till the mixture forms into craggly dough.

* Flatten into a disk, wrap in clingfilm and chill in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.

To make the filling

* Mix the pesto that we made earlier and cream cheese to make a smooth paste.

* Heat the oven to 190 degree Celsius.

Assembling the Galette

* Once the dough is chilled, remove from the refrigerator and place on a heavily floured work surface.

* Roll the dough out into a 9-inch round. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

* Spread the pesto mixture over the dough leaving a 1 inch border. Place the tomato slices on the pesto mixture and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.

* Fold the edges over the tomatoes using the 1 inch border and pleat them to make it fit. The center of the pie will be open.

* Brush the edges with egg wash (Whisk together egg and a little water to make egg wash) and bake for 40-50 minutes till golden brown.

* Remove from the oven. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, sprinkle with fresh basil, cut into wedges and serve.