This simple savory galette is the essence of summer — sautéed onions and corn, sweet tomatoes, and fresh basil all enveloped in a buttery, cornmeal crust.

A freshly baked savory galette with corn, tomatoes, and gruyere.

This galette, filled with caramelized onions, fresh corn, basil, Gruyère cheese, and heirloom tomatoes, is perfect for the end of summer. Serve it with a simple mixed greens salad or a cucumber-and-feta cheese plate for a light, vegetarian meal. Yum.

The recipe comes from the August 2000 issue of Fine Cooking Magazine, which was fantastic. Two of my all-time favorite recipes hail from that issue — this chocolate chip cookie recipe is the other one — and I have been making them now for almost 20 years. I feel old.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but David Lebovitz, author of The Perfect Scoop, wrote the article and supplied the two fabulous tart dough recipes, one sweet, one savory. The sweet galette dough is used in this recipe as well as this one, and the savory cornmeal galette dough is used in the above pictured tart, and it is so tasty.

Once you make this tart once, you’ll see how quickly savory galettes can materialize and how easily adaptable they are for all seasons. I suggest keeping the caramelized onions, the Gruyère, and some sort of herb, then swapping in whatever seasonal produce you have on hand for the corn and tomatoes. A favorite variation of mine is sautéed Swiss chard.

How to Make a Tomato Galette, Step by Step

First, gather your ingredients for the filling: tomatoes, corn, grated Gruyere, leeks or onions, and fresh basil.

The ingredients for the savory galette: tomatoes, corn, leeks, gruyere.

Assembling the galette: spread the corn and caramelized onion (or leek) mixture into the center of the dough; top with cheese; top with the tomatoes; then fold the edges up to make a free-form tart:

A montage of photos showing how to make a savory galette.

Bake until the crust is evenly golden brown:  

Freshly baked savory galette with corn, tomatoes, and Gruyère.
A sheet pan with two freshly baked savory galettes.
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A sheet pan with two freshly baked savory galettes.

Tomato Galette with Corn, Onions & Gruyère

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4.8 from 12 reviews

  • Author: Alexandra Stafford
  • Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegetarian
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Description

This simple savory galette is the essence of summer — sautéed onions and corn, sweet tomatoes, and fresh basil all enveloped in a buttery, cornmeal crust.

Source: David Lebovitz via Fine Cooking Magazine

Notes: 

  • For best results, use as a scale to measure. This Ooni Scale has become my favorite — it’s pricey but accurate. 
  • Salt: If using Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, it will be more like 1 teaspoon by volume. If using Morton or fine sea salt, it will be more like 1/2 teaspoon. If you use a scale, use 3 grams regardless of the brand. 
  • The Dough: This dough definitely is a little fragile and tricky to work with. Know that it is very forgiving—if it tears when you roll it out, you can ball it back up and start over. 

Ingredients

For the Cornmeal Galette Dough:

  • 1–1/4 cups (160 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup (43 g) fine yellow cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon (5 g) sugar
  • ½ teaspoon (3 g) kosher salt, see notes above
  • 6 tablespoons (3 oz.) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
  • 2 tablespoons (28 g)  olive oil
  • 1/4 cup (66 g) ice water, plus more as needed

Finishing the tart:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large white onion, thinly sliced
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
  • 1/2 bunch basil or tarragon, washed, dried, and coarsely chopped, (to yield about 1/2 cup); plus 10 whole leaves
  • Kernels from 1 ear of corn (about 1 cup)
  • 1 recipe Cornmeal Galette Dough (see above)
  • 1 large or 2 medium ripe tomatoes (about 3/4 lb. total) cut into 1/3-inch slices, drained on paper towels
  • 3 ounces Comté or Gruyère cheese, shredded
  • 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

  1. Make the dough:
    • To mix by hand: In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt. Cut in the chilled butter using a stand mixer, a food processor, or a pastry blender until it’s evenly distributed but still in large, visible pieces. Add the olive oil and ice water and mix until the dough begins to come together. Gather the dough with your hands and shape it into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap or stick in an airtight bag or vessel, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
    • To mix using a food processor: In the bowl of a food processor, puree the flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse 10 times at 1-second intervals. Add the ice water and the olive oil and pulse 10 times at 1-second intervals. Pinch the dough. It should hold together and feel moist. If it doesn’t add another teaspoon or two of ice water and pulse again to incorporate. The dough should look crumbly but moist. Lay a large tea towel on a work surface. Transfer the crumbly dough into the center of it, then twist the towel into a beggar’s purse. Open the purse: you should have a cohesive disk. If it is crumbly, knead it gently until it comes together. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap or stick in an airtight bag or vessel, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  2. To make the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 10 min. Season with salt to taste. Add the garlic, chopped basil, and corn and cook for 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set aside to cool.
  3. Prepare the oven/pan: Adjust an oven rack to the center position and heat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with kitchen parchment paper. 
  4. Roll out the dough: Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a 15-inch round, using flour as needed, and rotating and flipping often to prevent it from sticking. Note: This dough is fragile! I’ve never found it the easiest to work with, but I do find it forgiving: if it tears and sticks, ball it back up again, and start over, using flour as needed — I’ve done this on multiple occasions, and it always turns out well in the end. Transfer it to the prepared pan by folding it into quarters, then lifting the folded dough onto the baking sheet; then unfold it.
  5. Assemble the galette: Spread the onion and corn mixture over the dough, leaving a 1-inch border. Sprinkle half the cheese over the onions and corn. Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer on top and season with salt to taste. Scatter the remaining cheese over the tomatoes. Lift the edges of the dough and fold them inward over the filling, pleating as you go, to form a folded-over border. Pinch together any tears in the dough. Brush the egg yolk and water mixture over the exposed crust.
  6. Bake the galette: Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the crust has browned and the cheese has melted, 40 to 45 min. Slide the galette off the parchment and onto a cooling rack. Let cool for 10 min. If the basil leaves are large, stack them, roll them into a coil, then slice thinly into a chiffonade. If they are small, leave them as they are. Scatter them over the galette. Cut the galette into wedges, and serve.
  • Prep Time: 35 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hours
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American, French