OK. That's what I do. Shoutout to Tom and Sandra for the yummy goods from the garden.
Diet food, this is not. The crust boasts two sticks of butter AND a fair amount of sour cream. And like many traditional Southern tomato pie recipes, mayo is a key component to the cheese filling in between all the tomato craziness. Please do not let The Husband in on the mayo factor.
Since I speak the truths to my blogger following, you must know: The Jersey Girl eats portions fit for a doll. I try to eat big. It just doesn't work out. The plus side of that is that I can get down with some of this pie and not really care that each slice is probably 10,000 calories. That's an estimate, dear loyal readers.
For all you nervous nellies re: homemade pie crust. This one worked out really nicely. The sour cream element makes the dough very easy to roll out. It had a smoothness to it. Always, a plus.
A few tips for making pie dough are:
1. Stick your butter in the freezer for at least 30 minutes after cubing it. The chillier, the better. That's because it needs to be super cold when you roll it so that when you bake the crust it's flaky. It's science, people!
2. A food processor is your friend. Yeah, yeah. You could go the pastry cutter route, but why? WHY?! Just pulse baby, pulse.
3. Use your eyes. Don't overmix! Overmixing leads to tough pie crust. Eek.
4. Work fast. Have all your ingredients in place. And stick the iPad in your kid's hands.
5. Use your hands when you get to the ice water step. You're gonna get dirty. Get over it! A wooden spoon - while I love them - is a big waste of time here. Here's what my dough looked like after three tablespoons of water:
6. As soon as it all comes together get the dough in the fridge FAST. Resist the urge to keep mixing. Just stop!
A few tips for rolling out pie dough are:
1. Work fast but patiently. Don't let that dough beat down your soul.
2. Keep your surface and your rolling pin very well floured.
3. Turn your dough 90 degrees after every few rolls so that it doesn't stick to the surface. Flipping it over a few times is a good idea, too.
4. Have fun with it. Pie crust doesn't need to look Williams-Sonoma catalog worthy to taste good (See below). You know all those food porn pics are courtesy of lighting, stylists and fakery!
I made this tomato pie with literally perfect Jersey tomatoes overflowing in juiciness. Be sure to salt and let hang out on paper towels:
Definitely place in the oven with a baking sheet underneath underneath your pie dish so that you A. Don't muck up your uber clean oven (ha) and B. You don't start a smoke detector frenzy. Those are SUCH buzz kills, right? Look how large and in charge this is before putting in the oven:
I made my pie in a tart pan with removable sides, but a regular pie pan works just fine. And honestly, after being being knee deep in a bottle of cabernet sauvignon removing a gigantic pie from a pesky pretentious tart pan is NOT an easy task. My inner truck driver may have made a guest appearance during that portion of the evening.
Upon cutting into this monstrosity of a baked good, I thought for sure the crust would be a soggy mess, but I was so so wrong. I am a pessimist trapped inside an optimist. Or the other way.
Actually, the crust held up nicely to the mounds of tomato slices piled up like a mountain.
I found this recipe on Pinterest. I will definitely make it again. And sidenote: The leftovers tasted fab the next day. That crust still rocked!
Tomato Pie with Basil and Gruyere
From southernboydishes.com
For the crust:
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour1 teaspoon salt2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed and very cold3/4 cups sour cream4 to 5 tablespoons ice water
For the filling:
2 1/2 pounds assorted tomatoes
2 teaspoon salt (separated)
1 cup chopped Vidalia onion
1 3/4 cups grated Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise
1/2 cup basil chiffonade
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, beaten
For the crust:
1. Mix flour and salt together. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse flour and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Larger pieces of butter are fine.
2. Transfer mixture to a bowl and add sour cream. Mix until combined. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time and mix until dough comes together into a ball. Knead dough four or five times, wrap dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Transfer dough to a floured surface and roll to a 13-inch round. Gently place dough in a 9-inch fluted tart pan with 2-inch sides and a removable bottom. Press dough into pan; trim off excess dough along edges. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
For the filling:
1. Cut two pounds of tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices and remove seeds. Lay slices on paper towel and sprinkle with one teaspoon of salt. Let sit for 30 minutes.
2. Combine Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses, mayonnaise, basil, thyme, one teaspoon salt, pepper, and egg.
To Assemble Pie:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. With additional paper towel, pat tomato slices to remove excess moisture.
3. Add onion to bottom of pie crust. Top onion with 1/3 of the cheese mixture. Layer half of tomatoes over cheese mixture in overlapping pattern. Top tomatoes with 1/3 of cheese mixture. Repeat with another layer of tomatoes and cheese mixture.
4. Cut remaining tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices and arrange on top of pie in an overlapping pattern.
5. Place pie on baking sheet and place in oven. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.
6. Cool completely before cutting. Serve at room temperature.
For the crust:
1. Mix flour and salt together. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse flour and butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Larger pieces of butter are fine.
2. Transfer mixture to a bowl and add sour cream. Mix until combined. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time and mix until dough comes together into a ball. Knead dough four or five times, wrap dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Transfer dough to a floured surface and roll to a 13-inch round. Gently place dough in a 9-inch fluted tart pan with 2-inch sides and a removable bottom. Press dough into pan; trim off excess dough along edges. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
For the filling:
1. Cut two pounds of tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices and remove seeds. Lay slices on paper towel and sprinkle with one teaspoon of salt. Let sit for 30 minutes.
2. Combine Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses, mayonnaise, basil, thyme, one teaspoon salt, pepper, and egg.
To Assemble Pie:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. With additional paper towel, pat tomato slices to remove excess moisture.
3. Add onion to bottom of pie crust. Top onion with 1/3 of the cheese mixture. Layer half of tomatoes over cheese mixture in overlapping pattern. Top tomatoes with 1/3 of cheese mixture. Repeat with another layer of tomatoes and cheese mixture.
4. Cut remaining tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices and arrange on top of pie in an overlapping pattern.
5. Place pie on baking sheet and place in oven. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.
6. Cool completely before cutting. Serve at room temperature.
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