It seems like the 9 month period of mostly rainy days has begun und any garden related activities are shut down – almost shut down – my green house keeps on giving. Today I harvested as many Jalapeno Peppers as my tiny plant produced and also grabbed some more tomato’s that literally come out of the woodworks. I haven’t even planted the tomato’s that I am currently harvesting those must have just replanted themselves from last year. Which happened once in a while in my outdoor garden but I would have never guessed that could happen in a greenhouse.

While Mike is on a short business trip in Portland, did I pickle my Jalapenos and also made use of the tomato’s in form of a tomato galette. I already ate Tomato Mozzarella today for lunch but how can there be too many Tomato dishes when these are your own home grown tomatoes, I can’t just let them go to waste and I was in no shape today to run anything over to friends or neighbors, working from home often equals not looking very presentable,

Most recipes call for goat cheese but I only had mozzarella in the house and it turned out pretty good. It might be too bland for the strong cheese lover, so exchange the Mozzarella for goat cheese or mix ricotta and goat cheese for an “in the middle flavor”.

Tomato Galette:

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 1/4 cup  all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 110 gr cold butter (1 stick)
• 1/4 cup icy cold water

For the filling:

• 1 cup fresh and very well drained mozzarella (or a mixture of ricotta and goat cheese)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano

Topping:

• 3 to 4 heirloom tomatoes (or any other tomato’s that you currently have at hand)
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon parmesan
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Directions:

Prepare the crust:

1. Cut the tomatoes in slices, set on a paper towel and season with salt.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, (or follow the same instructions if doing by hand), pulse together the flour, parmesan, salt and oregano until incorporated. Add the butter and pulse until the butter resembles small peas and is evenly incorporated. Gradually, stream in the cold water until the flour just comes together. Turn the mixture out onto your work surface and form into a 2-inch thick, round disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or overnight) before rolling out.
3. Preheat the oven to 350F and position a rack in the center.
4. Mix the ingredients for the filling together and keep refrigerated until ready for use.
5. Roll out the pastry dough to a 10-inch circle on a well floured surface. (You might have to let it warm up a little bit to be able to roll out the dough).
6. Spread the breadcrumbs on the dough then followed by the cheese mixture. Leave a 2-inch border of pastry all around. Dab any liquid off the tomato’s and layer the tomatoes on top. Gather the edges of the pastry dough, pleating as you go with your fingertips (don’t worry about being even ) Sprinkle the tomatoes with parmesan. Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool slightly,season with fresh pepper and drizzle with the olive oil, some more oregano and serve.

Guten Appetit!