TOMATO & HALOUMI GALETTE

Serves 4-6 • Vegetarian

In this Middle Eastern–inspired galette, toum and za’atar combine beautifully with haloumi and tomato, encased in an easy homemade pu pastry. The tomato hides all these secret additions, so when you eat it there are heaps of unexpected flavours and textures that make it a delight to eat. It’s a perfect vegetarian main or addition to a spread. It can be made ahead and eaten at room temperature, and it’s pretty sturdy too, so can be easily transported to the park for a picnic.

600 grams tomatoes (mix of colours and sizes if possible), sliced (or halved if using cherry tomatoes)

1 teaspoon salt

200 grams toum (Lebanese garlic dip)

250 grams haloumi, sliced into 5mm-thick slabs

2 teaspoons za’atar

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 egg, beaten

Simple puff pastry

150 grams salted cold butter, cut into cubes

260 grams plain flour, plus extra if needed and for dusting ½ teaspoon salt 80ml ice-cold water, plus extra if needed

To serve

handful of oregano and basil leaves olive oil extra za’atar

Swaps

vegan – simple pu pastry: store-bought vegan pu pastry; omit the haloumi or use vegan cheese, caramelised onions or

roasted eggplant slices toum – 80 grams garlicky aioli or 60ml olive oil blended with 3 garlic cloves and a pinch of salt

To make the pastry, place the butter, flour and salt in a large bowl and use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour until well distributed but with some large chunks remaining. This can also be done in a food processor using the pulse function. Add the ice-cold water and bring the dough into a rough ball with your hands, working it just enough so that it smooshes together, adding a little extra water or flour as needed.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll it out to a large square, about 2mm thick. Fold the dough over itself a few times to form a rough cube (this creates layers of pastry, which will help it pu up when cooked). Wrap the pastry in a clean tea towel and set aside in the fridge for about 1 hour, until very firm. You can make the dough up to 2 days ahead.

Meanwhile, transfer the tomatoes to a colander set over a large bowl. Sprinkle over the salt, toss gently to combine and leave to drain for 15-20 minutes – this will prevent your galette having a soggy bottom.

Once your dough is firm, preheat the oven to 200°C fan-forced. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface to a 45cm large circle. Gently roll it up onto the rolling pin, then unroll onto the prepared tray. Don’t worry if the pastry is bigger than the tray, as you’ll fold in the edges.

Spread the toum across the centre of the pastry, leaving a 5cm border. Place the haloumi on top and sprinkle with the za’atar and fennel seeds. Give the tomato a gentle toss to extract any final liquid, then arrange on top of the haloumi. Fold over the pastry edge to form a galette and brush with the beaten egg. Transfer to the oven and bake for 25-35 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with oregano and basil leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of za’atar.