This is the time of year to take advantage of those beautiful heirloom tomatoes…soon they will disappear,  and there really is no substitute for locally grown, vine-ripened tomatoes.

And of course you can’t go wrong with a little cheese — used a mixture of fresh ricotta and feta from the farmers’ market, along with plenty of fresh herbs (thyme and rosemary); you can use just about any cheese you like, ditto for the herbs.  As for the crust too, don’t hesitate to vary the types of flour.  I used half spelt and half all-purpose because I like the nuttiness of the spelt, but didn’t want it to be too dense.  The crust came out flaky and buttery (there’s a stick of butter in there).

Had some left over tomatoes, so I made a simple tomato salad to accompany the tart.  Just tomatoes, extra-virgin olive olive, fresh basil and thyme, coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  When you have tomatoes this good, you really don’t have to do much to them.

Heirloom Tomato Galette

Galette dough (recipe below)
3-4 medium heirloom tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup fresh ricotta, strained (you want t to remove excess moisture)
1/2 cup feta
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Basil leaves, thinly sliced for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Sprinkle the tomatoes with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Place the slices on paper towels to drain.

Mix the ricotta, feta, minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme, and 1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary.  Add a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper.

Flour your work surface.  Roll out the dough to approximately a 12-inch circle.  Spread the ricotta-feta mixture around the dough, leaving a 2-inch border around the edges.  Layer on the sliced tomatoes, sprinkle the remaining chopped herbs on top.  Sprinkle a little coarse sea salt on top.  Gather the edges of the pastry dough, pleating as you go with your fingertips (don’t worry if it’s not perfect, this is a rustic tart).

Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.  Garnish with the chopped basil leaves.  Cut into wedges and serve.

Galette dough

1 1/4 cups flour (used half spelt and half all-purpose)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 stick of butter, chilled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4-5 tablespoons ice cold water

Pulse the flours, black pepper and salt in a food processor.  Add the butter and pulse until it resembles small peas.  Gradually add the cold water and lemon juice and pulse to incorporate (do not overmix).  Form into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.