Amelia Saltsman’s Cherry Tomato and Fresh Cannellini Bean Galettes

Written by

PIE-A-DAY #73

This recipe comes to us from Amelia Saltsman – writer, cooking teacher, television host and author of the award-winning book The Santa Monica Farmer’s Market Cookbook: Seasonal Foods, Simple Recipes, and Stories from the Market and Farm.

I’ve been obsessed with savory tomato pies and galettes all summer. When that kind of infatuation comes over me, I make lots of mini-versions, playing with lots of flavor combinations before scaling up. They’ve all been tasty, but today I hit upon my end-of-summer favorite: a galette filled with a generous smear of leftover smashed fresh cannellini beans that I had simmered with whole garlic cloves and a bit of fresh rosemary, topped with whole cherry tomatoes that I tossed with olive oil, salt, and hot red pepper flakes. Before baking, I brushed the galette with olive oil and sprinkled Maldon sea salt over the whole thing, including the crust. When it came out of the oven I topped it with fresh basil and toasted bread crumbs.

Keep reading for the recipe…

For the crust, I really like using a mixture of all-purpose and whole-wheat flours.

My savory galette crust:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
5 to 6 tablespoons ice water

Stir together the dry ingredients. Add the butter and toss to coat. Using a fork, pastry blender, or your fingers, cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse sand with some flattened bits of butter still visible. Stir in enough of the water so the mixture looks clumpy and sticks together when pressed more firmly. It’s okay if some sandy bits still remain.

Gather all dough more or less into a ball and place on a sheet of plastic wrap. Bring the ends of the plastic wrap over to cover. Use the heel of your hand to press the wrapped dough into a disk about 1-inch thick, using your other hand as a guide to keep the edges of the disk generally even. Turn and press the other side. The heat and pressure of your hand helps the dough stick together.

If you are making individual galettes, unwrap the dough, cut in half, and rewrap the two pieces. Refrigerate dough for at least 15 minutes to allow the moisture in the butter to help the dough stick together even more.

For individual pastries, roll each piece of dough on a floured surface into a rectangle about 6 inches wide and 1/8-inch thick, lifting and turning the dough as needed to keep it from sticking. Cut into 6-inch squares or use a plate or lid to cut 6-inch circles. For a large galette, roll out dough into one large circle, about 15-inches in diameter.

Fill as desired, leaving a 1- to 2-inch border. Fold up and pleat the edges to contain filling. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush filled pastries with olive oil, sprinkle Maldon sea salt or fleur de sel over, and bake in a preheated 425-degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and bake until browned, about 25 minutes longer.