Greek Galette

Greek Galette. image: Essy Roz

I love having a pastry that is all joy, served at the center of the table.
A pastry that’s colored in the right amount,
A pastry that’s full of textures,
A pastry with flavors that are full of precision,
A pastry that decorates the table,
And brings huge festive joy.

My galette is made up of many layers of textures and flavors.
The cheese layer is the most special and delicious one inside my galette.
It’s the one which makes the bite dreamy.
This is a layer that has precision and harmony.
Fresh cream cheese gives it a sweet and refined creaminess,
The Bulgarian cheese is full of salty tanginess that takes your mouth on a fascinating Balkan trip.

The combination of the cheese mixture, the cherry tomatoes and the delightful dough.
It’s one of the most indulgent combinations you’ll meet.

My galette will totally be the star of the holiday table.
You can prepare it quickly,
It doesn’t require prior preparations,
Its baking time is short,
And it’s like a colorful and delicious flower bouquet in the center of the table.
All in all it’s one big experience.

Happy and delicious holidays 🙂

Greek Galette. image: Essy Roz

Greek Galette

Ingredients: suitable for a galette 10.2’’ / 11’’ (26/28cm) diameter for about 4-6 diners.

20-25 colorful cherry tomatoes (For alternatives, have a look at “A little extra from me”)

For the cheese filling:

A package of crème fraîche (200g)
½ block crumbled Bulgarian cheese (about 120g)
½ teaspoon of garlic powder / 1 crushed garlic clove
1 teaspoon dried oregano

For the dough:

2 eggs (M / L)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Pinch of salt
1½ cups almond flour
¾ cup oat flour (For alternatives, have a look at “A little extra from me”)
½ teaspoon baking powder

Kindly note** If your dough comes out stickier / drier than in the pictures, here are some actions you can take to bring the dough to a state where it’s convenient to work with: if the dough comes out wet and sticky, gradually add almond flour and knead it. Each time add one tablespoon until you get a dough that is flexible and easy to work with. If the dough comes out dry and crumbly, break an egg in a small saucer and gradually add the egg batter to the dough, a tablespoon at a time, and knead the dough until you get a texture that is convenient to work with.

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 355°F (180°C), turbo mode.
Let’s start making the stuffing: in a bowl, put all the stuffing ingredients, the crème fraîche, crumbled Bulgarian cheese, garlic powder and dried oregano and mix well until you get a delicious cheese paste.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and put them aside.
Continue by making the dough: in a bowl, put the eggs, oil and salt and whisk well. To the bowl, add the almond flour, oat flour and baking powder and mix. Start mixing the dough with a spoon until dough crumbs are formed and then move to mixing with your hands. Mix until you get a nice ball of dough that’s easy to work with. If the dough doesn’t reach the right texture, take a look at the note written above “Steps”.
Roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment paper with a rolling pin to a uniform thickness, between 0.2”-0.4”(½-1cm). The dough should be easy to work with and come out easily from the parchment paper. Cut a circle out of the dough, slightly larger than the baking pan you chose.
Now let’s assemble the galette: spread the cheese mixture on the dough layer, and leave the sides of the dough empty so that we can fold them in a minute (Have a sneak peek at the pictures below). Place the tomato halves on the cheese mixture, it’s important that the cut part is facing up (Just like in the pictures), because we want to keep the dough from getting wet from the tomatoes and remain dry. Also this way the liquids of the tomatoes will evaporate and the sugars in them will caramelize just like a candy.
Fold the sides of the dough over the mixture of cheese and tomato. Pay attention, don’t cover the cheese mixture too much, if the sides of the dough are too wide, cut them. Then move the galette together with the parchment paper to the baking pan.
Using a brush, smear the sides of the dough with a little olive oil and place in the center of the oven and bake for between 25-30 minutes.

Take the galette out of the oven and let it cool a little.
The galette can be served at room temperature or cold. In both cases it’s delicious and indulgent, I prefer it warm at room temperature.

Serving suggestion: on a cutting board, so it will be easy to cut and serve.

A little extra from me:

The galette can be kept in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 4 days.
Oat flour can be substituted for chickpea flour / quinoa flour / coconut flour.
Click here to see how to grind oat flour at home.
Additional vegetables for the filling: zucchini slices / mushroom slices, there is no need to pre-cook them.

How to grind oatmeal at home 🙂