If you are a pastry maker I really hope these will appeal to you as the are easy to make,  lovely and tasty – they make a great mid week meal or for lunch at work or school. My sisters recently reminded me that they aren’t all pastry makers so if that is the case for you I would say that there are lots of good quality short crust pastrys out there so go ahead and use that if you fancy making these… no one need know!

Egg and Ham Galettes with tomatoes

Serves 6

Pastry

200gr plain flour

100gr cold butter cubed

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp total of mixed chopped fresh herbs (Chives Oregano Thyme)

1 egg

3 tbsp water

Filling

60gr ham of choice – parma or serrano

60gr grated cheese – Manchego works great but simple cheddar will work too

6 small eggs

3 tbsp chopped chives

salt and pepper to taste

12 cherry tomatoes

Combine the flour, salt and herbs in a food processor. Add the cold butter and pulse until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the egg and 2 tbsp of the water and pulse. It it doesn/t come together add the rest of the water. Remove and gently knead to bring together into a ball, flatten and wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes. Roll out into a rectangle about 2mm thick and cut out into circles approx 6″ in diameter.

Place onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the cheese, ham and cherry tomatoes onto the 6 circles. Bring the edges if the pastry up so it forms a basket, Make sure to bring it up by an inch as you want to ensure the egg doesn’t spill out of its basket. Crack the eggs one by one into a small ramekin (easier to pour into the pastry baskets).

Tip the egg into the pastry basket, season well, sprinkle over the chopped chives and bake in a preheated oven at 200C for about 15 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the egg is done.  Serve as is with a lovely green salad.