Levantine Fried Tomatoes (Galayet Bandora Recipe)

A plate with levantine fried tomatoes garnished with parsley.

5 from 5 votes

Levantine Fried Tomatoes (Galayet Bandora Recipe)

Galayet Bandora is a traditional Levantine side dish that is simple, delicious and light. Fresh ripe tomatoes are fried, or sauteed, with extra virgin olive oil, spicy hot peppers and pungent garlic. Enjoy it with warm pita bread and pair it with my caramelized eggplant hummus, labneh balls or roasted eggplant dip for your next get-together or party.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Brunch, Side Dish

Cuisine: Levantine, Middle Eastern

Servings: people

Author: Luay Ghafari

Cost: $5

Ingredients

2 lbs Roma tomatoes
3 tbsp Olive oil - Divided
1-2 Jalapeno peppers - You can also use Serrano peppers - see note
4 Garlic cloves - 2 cloves finely minced, 2 cloves thinly sliced - divided
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tbsp Pine nuts
Parsley for garnish

Instructions

Blanch Tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Make a small X-shaped cut on the bottom of each tomato with a paring knife. Drop the tomatoes into the hot water carefully. Wait 30-60 seconds and carefully remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl.
Prepare Tomatoes: Let the tomatoes cool slightly and then carefully peel the skins and discard. Chop the tomatoes into large chunks and set aside.
Fry Tomatoes. To a medium sized frying pan set on medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. When the olive oil begins to shimmer, add the chopped hot peppers and minced garlic. Sautee for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the chopped tomatoes, a big pinch of salt and black pepper. At this point, you can add optional whole or sliced jalapenos for more heat. Continue to cook on medium-low heat, stirring once in a while, until the sauce thickens. This can take anywhere between 10-15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer to a serving platter or bowl.
Fry Garnish. In a small frying pan set on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the thinly sliced garlic cloves. Toss continuously until the garlic begins to brown lightly, 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the pine nuts and keep stirring. The residual heat should help the pine nuts toast and brown. Before the garlic and pine nuts get too brown and burn, spoon or pour the hot oil, garlic and pine nut mixture over the stewed tomatoes. There might be some splatter. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with pita.

Notes

See the recipe post above for step-by-step photos.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:

Tomatoes: Select ripe, delicious, local and in-season paste-type tomatoes (Roma, San Marzano, Amish paste or others). You can use regular types of tomatoes too but you might have to cook the dip down for longer to get to the right consistency.
Extra virgin olive oil: There is absolutely no substitution. This recipe has very few ingredients so make sure to use the best you have on hand.
Jalapeno: You can use any type of green chili here such as serrano peppers or even Thai bird chili. The choice is yours but be careful because different chili peppers will have different heat levels. You can always add more heat to this dish, but you can’t take it out without diluting it. If you’re making it for kids, you can use sweet green pepper instead.
Garlic: For me, garlic is a must. If you’re worried about this dish being too garlicky, simply use fewer cloves. Or if you have roasted or confit garlic on hand, you can use that.
Pine nuts: Fried pine nuts give this dish a nice crunch and texture. If you are not a fan of pine nuts, you can use slivered almonds. You can also omit the nuts entirely.
Parsley: You can also use fresh mint or cilantro if you have it on hand. Basil can be used.

Nutrition