Summer Tomato Corn Galette

From Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

‘Galette’ just means rustic looking, single crust, free-form pie with a filling and the crust folded partway over the top of the filling. Bon Appétit says, “their imperfections are what set them apart—in fact, the less you do, the better they look.” 

Normally during the warmer months, once a month a girlfriend and I drive down to Wilson Farm in Lexington, MA. For those that don’t know, Lexington (yes the same one you learned about in history) is a very old area of Mass, full of expensive housing and Wilson Farm has 33 acres right in the middle. The farm has been operating there since 1884 with the first farm stand in the 1950’s.  

Most of their fruit and vegetables are locally grown and you can see the fields surrounding the shop, right in the middle of houses. Remember as I always say on NH’s ABC WMUR’s Cooks Corner, most real food is naturally gluten-free until manufacturers mess around with it. Inside, the fruit and veg are arranged like the finest French markets, with fresh baked goods (including gluten-free), large cheese selection, meats, fresh from their kitchen soups, salads, meals and more, as well as flowers and plants.  Weekends and special event times like the tomato festival, there would be samples to try. They have another farm in Litchfield, NH and locally we could look across the river from the Anheuser Busch plant to the red barn building in Litchfield, but had to drive the long way around to get there. 

There is a recipe wall behind the row of checkouts, with lots and lots of free recipe cards for you to take away and make yourself. This is one of the recipes I used to make in wheat flour days and now with fresh local corn and tomatoes abounding, I make it gluten-free.

Gluten-Free Summer Tomato Corn Galette
recipe Cornmeal Galette dough for 1 galette, about 11 inches in diameter

Again with local availability at the moment, I didn’t have regular gluten-free cornmeal so I substituted Krusteaz honey cornbread mix. Bob’s Red Mill carries gluten-free cornmeal and cornflour but one is too gritty and the other is too fine for my taste. 

Ingredients:

• 4 oz, ¾ c KAF gluten-free all-purpose flour – no xanthan gum, no baking powder. 
• 2/3 cup/ 4 oz Krusteaz gluten-free honey cornbread mix, does contain both xanthan gum and baking powder so don’t add any more. Substitute cornmeal/cornflour that you have, by weight, and dough might need more liquid added.
• (1 tsp. Sugar – not necessary if you use Krusteaz)
• salt and pepper
• ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese, I’ve also used Sharp cheddar when I was out of Parmesan
• 6 Tbsp, 3 oz, cold butter, cut into ½-inch slices 
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp ice water

Filling

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp. marjoram, chopped, I’ve also used fresh oregano and fresh basil, depending on what you have grown or what’s available 
• Kernels from 2 ears of corn (about 2 cups) Fresh corn makes a phenomenal difference in taste compared to frozen or canned but they still taste good. I cook extra corn day before, then cut off kernels
• 1 large roasted red bell pepper, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1” squares.  I don’t know what this would taste like with jarred peppers, freshly roasted red bell pepper is addictive and freezes well
• ~3 large ripe tomatoes, sliced – I like Campari
• ¾ c 3 oz shredded cheddar

Directions:

1. I put the flour, Krusteaz, (sugar), salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese in food processor. Add the chilled butter and pulse until butter is small pieces. Or in a bowl by hand or with a pastry blender.  Add the olive oil and ice water, and pulse until the dough begins to come together. It should be soft. Gather the dough with your hands and shape it into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
2. I like to cook onion in microwave-safe dish until meltingly tender and sweet.  Plus you don’t have to keep watching pan to see if it’s burning. Season with salt and pepper. When onion is tender, add the corn, cut up bell pepper, garlic, marjoram or herb of choice, and set aside to cool. I have also made this with 2 diced zucchini cooked with onions and didn’t think it added to taste.
3. This is a soft dough and I find it easiest to grease pyrex 9” pie plate and bake on metal sheet or use my Le Creuset cast iron 10” skillet. Put soft ball of dough onto skillet/pie dish, dust your fingers with some gf flour, press with your fingers. and press dough to reach up sides of pan. You are going to fold down edges of dough on side of pan on top of onion corn filling.
4. Spread the onion and corn mixture over base of the dough. Starting about 2 inches in from edge of onion mix, arrange the tomatoes in a single layer over the onions and season them with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the cheese over the tomatoes. Lift the edges of the dough and fold them inward over the filling, pleating as you go, to form a folded-over border. I use a thin plastic spatula and ‘flip’ the dough from edge of pan down onto filling.  I find this easier than trying to persuade dough away from side of pan with my fingers. Pinch together any tears in the dough. I have tried making this by rolling out and lifting dough and find pressing dough into pan is easier. 
5. Bake in preheated 375 * oven until the crust has browned and the cheese has melted, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. This is a rich, very ‘short’ pastry.  In a metal pan, the bottom crust is more thoroughly cooked. A totally different recipe said about serving a potato casserole with salsa, sliced avocado and sour cream.  I tried that but I thought it was too many extra flavors.

wilsonfarm.com recipes are online
Wilson Farm, 10 Pleasant Street, Lexington, MA 02421
(781) 862-3900