Looking for a creative way to use all those tomatoes you grew
this summer? My blogging buddy Mika gave me a delicious Tomato
Pie recipe to try and I knew you all would love it.
For this recipe you need to start with homemade crust.
SHORTCUT: If you are a busy (lazy) mommy like me...you can skip this step and grab a Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust, they usually run about $2.50 for 2 crusts in the refrigerator section of your grocery store.
Pie Crust Recipe
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar (increase to 1 1/2 teaspoons if for a sweet
recipe)
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch
cubes
3 to 4 Tbsp ice water, very cold
1. Cut up a stick of butter
into small 1/2-inch cubes, and put it into the freezer. The colder the butter
the flakier the crust! Freeze the butter at least 15 minutes, best overnight.
2. Put the flour, salt, and sugar into a food processor and
pulse until well combined. Add half of the butter cubes and pulse 6 to 8 times.
Then add the other half of the butter cubes and pulse 6 to 8 more times. Your
mixture should be course with many butter pieces visible.
3. Add a few tablespoons of ice cold water (without the ice!)
to the food processor bowl and pulse a couple of times. Then add more ice
water, slowly, about a tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until
the mixture just barely begins to clump together. Try to keep the water to a
minimum. Too much water will make your crust tough.
4. Remove the crumbly mixture from the food processor and use
your hands to press the dough together and shape into a disc. Sprinkle the disc
with a little flour on all sides. Wrap the disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate
at least 1 hour. (At this point you can freeze the dough disk for several
months until ready to use. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before
proceeding.)
5. When you are ready to roll out the dough, remove the disk
from the refrigerator and place on a clean, smooth, lightly floured surface.
Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle some flour on top of the disk. Using a
rolling pin, roll out the dough then place on to a 9-inch pie plate, lining up
the fold with the center of the pan. Gently unfold and press down to line the
pie dish with the dough. Use a fork to mark the sides to make it look like a
pastry dish.
After you have made your pie crust you should bake the crust
for 10 minutes at 350 before adding your tomato pie filling. Just keep an eye
on it in the oven. If it starts to bubble up take it out!
Tomato Pie Filling
4 medium (non-grocery-store) tomatoes
½ cup fresh basil leaves chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used 2 percent milk cheese)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used 2 percent milk
cheese)
6-8 Tablespoons (more or less) light mayonnaise
1 onion, diced; or use 1 bunch green onions, chopped (I did
the green onion)
Salt and pepper
Directions-Core the tomatoes and slice them about ½ inch
thick. Put them in a colander and
sprinkle lightly with salt. Set them
aside to drain. I used a cookie sheet and paper towel to soak up the juices.
You should dry the tomatoes out as much as you can so the pie is not watery.
Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a small
saucepan. Sauté the diced onion 5-6
minutes, until softened. Set aside. [If
using green onions, skip this step and just chop green onion].
In your pie shell, layer half the tomatoes and half of the
onions. Top with dollops of 1/3 of the
cheese mixture, then the rest of the tomatoes and onions. Top with the rest of the cheese mixture (this
will be difficult to spread since we have cut down the mayo—just try to get it
distributed as evenly as possible).
Bake in 350° oven for 30 minutes or until top is browned. Halfway through baking I added a little bit of both cheeses to
the top!
