Friday, August 7, 2015

In the Garden...And Another Tomato Pie


This lovely girl, nonchalantly munching forsythia in our front yard is probably the one who has wiped out three-quarters of my corn and most of my beans. 


She has left the tomatoes alone, thank goodness, though between the blight and the dry weather recently, they're not what they should be.

She doesn't appear to care about cucumbers, peppers, squash, or kale, thank heavens.


John is talking about a deer proof fence for next year, Miss Lady, so enjoy the garden while you can. . .



Meanwhile, here's another tomato pie, this one from a recipe one of my students sent me. It uses mayonnaise, fresh mozzarella, and Greek olives and is delicious. 


Nan's Tomato Pie (To Die For) with notes from Vicki


Single Pie Crust Recipe  (I use a sour cream pastry crust, yum!) I used the recipe I used in my previous tomato pie recipe

4 medium ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut into half-inch slices (24 oz)
1/2 tsp. salt
Half-cup mayonnaise (if you're so inclined, homemade is preferable) of course I used homemade; it's what's in the fridge
4 green onions, both white and green sliced
2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped fine
1  cup (4oz) Parmesan Cheese, divided
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced thick
1/4 cup, Greek cured olives, diced I used ordinary pitted Kalamatas, not finding the dry cured at my local store
Salt & Pepper, freshly ground

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Make pastry, chill, roll out.

Place tomatoes in a single layer on paper towels; sprinkle with salt; let stand for 30 minutes.
Pat dry with paper towels.  Stir together mayo, onions, basil and 3/4 cup parmesan cheese.  Roll out pastry into a 13-inch circle, fit into a 9-inch pie plate, crimping edges.

Par-bake crust for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese over bottom of crust. Arrange tomato slices over cheese; spread mayo mixture over tomatoes. Layer mozzarella on top in a circular pattern. Scatter olives on top. Season liberally with salt and pepper.  Bake for 34-37 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.



Nan's take on tomato pie is delicious and rich. The melted fresh mozzarella looks disconcertingly like mayo but it's not. If I'd paid attention to the directions to make a circular pattern with the mozzarella, it would probably have been more attractive. No matter. It was a terrific supper and, served cold the next day, made a fine lunch.




8 comments:

Sandra Parshall said...

A "deer-proof" fence! Oh, that's a good one. Will it be 25 feet high? Thanks for the laugh. :-)

Ms. A said...

Oooooh... a garden thief! Drat! That pie sound awesome!

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

As pretty as the deer are (including bunnies too), they are always up to no good in the garden. I shoo them away but they just come back. A deer fence sounds like a great idea. It would have been a real shame had she feasted on those tomatoes. Your pie sounds divine with left-overs too. Summertime doesn't get any better than that.
Sam

Jean Baardsen said...

At least no one's talking about venison for dinner.... Or were you? :0)

Vicki Lane said...

Yeah, I know, Sandy. But my son made one about 12 feet high that kept them out -- during the summer there's lot of forage available so they aren't desperate, just perverse.

Frances said...

Vicki, I agree with you about the physical beauty of that deer, but also with your describing her as perverse. Certainly there are plenty other things to nibble on beyond your garden borders.

Ahh, but how wonderful that the tomatoes were spared. That pie looks very, very delish!

Planning a garden fortress/stockade might be an interesting winter project. Would you add CCTV to the fencing? I joke....

xo

Darla said...

Lovely photos of the deer…she's so elegant! However, I can't quite wrap my mind around a tomato pie… ;)

Jime said...

That's the healthiest deer I have seen in a long time thanks to you Vicki. My daughter-in-law went on line and bought an effigy of a dead crow and put it upside down a bush in her back yard and they stopped coming around to wash their nasty food in her bird bath. I'm just wondering if they make one for deer that would work. How about a load speaker with a mountain lion yell on it. My two cents worth

That tomato pie looks so good.