Debbie Quinn has a lifelong love of food and cooking, nurtured in her parents’ restaurants and in her own family’s kitchen. Every fortnight she shares her passion and expertise with our readers, bringing her best recipes, tips and tricks to the table.
This is an easy recipe. It has a simple, rustic and lovely flavoured pastry, so don’t worry about getting it perfect. It will work and taste great. It’s a fun recipe to put together with friends or family in the kitchen because everybody loves getting the rolling pin out.
Cream cheese pastry
180g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
120g butter, cold and cut into cubes
85g cream cheese
Pinch of salt
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 level tablespoons cream
Ricotta filling
300g Ricotta cheese
100g good quality Greek feta, crumbled
1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper to season
Pinch of ground nutmeg
6 to 8 assorted tomatoes
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
50g grated pecorino cheese or parmesan
Glaze and garnish
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp nigella seeds
Extra grated pecorino cheese or parmesan
Extra basil leaves
Method
To make the pastry, combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined. Form the pastry into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
Combine the ricotta, feta, egg, chopped basil, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Place in the fridge until you are ready to fill the flan.
Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180°C. Line a large tray with baking paper.
Remove the pastry from the fridge 10 minutes before rolling. Lightly dust the pastry and bench with the SR flour and roll out the pastry to around 27 in diameter (the size of a large dinner plate).
Spread the ricotta filling over the pastry, leaving a 3cm border. Thickly slice the tomatoes and place them on top of the ricotta filling. Season well with salt and pepper and top with torn basil and pecorino cheese.
Carefully fold up the pastry border, and roughly fold or pleat the sides. You don’t have to be too neat with this. It just needs to fold over the edges of the flan to hold in the filling (around two or three centimetres).
Brush the pastry edges with the beaten egg and generously sprinkle the nigella seeds around the edges of the pastry and over the flan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with basil leaves and parmesan.
Deb’s tips
Don’t over-blend the pastry. When it just comes together, it’s fine. Take it out and form it into a ball. When folding in the sides of the pastry, all you need to do is keep the filling in. You can just press any edges together that may have a few gaps, but it will work without being too fussy. The pastry will be kept in the fridge for 2 days and can be frozen.
We still have some late-season tomatoes ripening in the garden, so I used a mix of beefsteak and cherry tomatoes. You can use any fresh tomatoes; just make sure you cover the whole galette.
I like to use Floridia ricotta in a tub. I get it from Europa Deli, and you can also find it in some supermarkets. Creamy ricotta has a different texture and doesn’t work well. Also, use the best-quality Greek feta cheese you can find.
Nigella seeds are available at delis and supermarkets, but if you can’t find them and love sesame seeds, you can substitute them. (Black sesame seeds also look great on the galette.)
Place the tray on a lower shelf in your oven. Serve it by lifting it off the tray with the baking paper and serving it on your favourite dish, or serve it rustically on a chopping board, leaving the baking paper underneath. It’s also delicious served cold.