Tomato & Goat Cheese Galette with Chili Crisp + Harmony in Contrasts

And a video (with me dancing).

Hello my dears, 

I want to start this newsletter by saying thank you. Thank you for being here, for reading this newsletter, and joining me on this journey of self discovery through cooking. The kitchen can be a powerful place to come home to ourselves (while enjoying delicious things along the way!). Your support means so much, and I wanted to take a moment to express how grateful I am for you. ❤️

Now onto today’s new recipe (I’m really excited about this one).

I’ve been thinking a lot about contrasts lately, and how contrasts help us figure out what we like and don’t like. Contrasts often feel like they oppose each other, but in reality, they’re just different ends of a spectrum. We need all the colors—the light, the dark, and everything in between—to give our world depth. While it might seem counterintuitive, contrasts can actually create harmony instead of dissonance. 

Take this tomato galette for instance. It has a buttery flaky crust (which just happens to be gluten free), with a layer of creamy goat cheese that’s flavored with garlic and honey, followed by juicy, sweet tomatoes. You could stop there, but the tart gets finished with a drizzle of spicy, umami-loaded chili crisp, which yes, contrasts with the other flavors, but also brings them into their full dimension. The result is a dynamic tart that’s way more interesting (and delicious) than a one-note dish. 

Contrasts can certainly lead to divisiveness and disconnection, but they can also create harmony, as long as every component is valued as an integral part of the whole. What we perceive as bad on its own (nobody would want to eat a spoonful of salt) often provides essential balance when in communion with other flavors (without salt, most dishes are incredibly bland).

This week, I invite you to celebrate contrasts. Where can you add some contrast to your dishes to bring more vibrancy to the finished dish? Perhaps it’s by adding a hint of spice to something sweet, like this tart (or, try chili crisp over peaches with burrata!), or by topping something creamy with something crunchy (maple pecans over ice cream!), or by adding a splash of acid to something bland (white vinegar over sliced cucumbers!).

Flavors and textures that appear to be on opposite sides of the spectrum can create beautiful balance, as long as each ingredient is treated respectfully as a critical factor to the whole (and perhaps I’m not just talking about food here).

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies + Embracing Contrasts

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Tomato & Goat Cheese Galette

I’ve made a quick video for you below sharing my tips for rolling out the galette dough and adding the goat cheese filling (stay tuned until the end of the video, where I mortify my kids), but to see the whole tart come together, check out this video. Also, if you’re interested in learning more about pie making, you can get a ton more tips in my Gluten Free Pie Making Class—use the discount code NEWSLETTER to get a 20% discount off the class as a subscriber. 

Today’s recipe is for paid subscribers, whose support of just a few dollars a month makes all of this work possible. If you’d like to hop over (and receive all of the recipes, as well as bonus posts, the ability to comment and request recipes, and more fun perks!) click the button below. Thank you so much for your support.