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.

Tomato Time!

Oh, yes! The tomatoes are ripening and we are feasting!

Those big green-topped beauties are the Cherokee Purples and there was one just right for making BLTs -- our summertime favorite.

An assortment -- San Marzanos, Cherries, and Yellow Pears -- set me to thinking of Tomato Pie and I went to a recipe from Garden and Gun.  

Oh. My. Goodness. It was WONDERFUL! We ate half for supper and will be enjoying the rest for lunch today.

Here's the recipe.(Of course, I made a few changes)

4  shallots, minced  (I used a medium sized onion, not having shallots on hand) 

3  garlic cloves, minced

4  tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
1  tbsp. Dijon mustard
9-inch pie shell (See below)
1  lb. assorted heirloom tomatoes, sliced ¼-inch thick
3  oz. goat cheese, crumbled  (I used mozzarella as Himself doesn't like goat cheese)
½  oz. fresh basil chiffonade
1  tbsp. Grenache vinegar (I have no idea what this is -- I used balsamic vinegar)
½  cup fresh bread crumbs ( I almost used bread crumbs out of a can but I tore up a fresh ciabatta and was glad I did-- fresh makes a difference.)
1  oz. grated Parmesan cheese (NOT the stuff in the green shaker.  I used a bit more, since I wasn't using the goat cheese.)
Salt and pepper

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small pan, sauté shallots (or onion) and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in mustard, and set aside.

Place pastry shell in a 9-inch pie dish.  Sprinkle some of the Parmesan on the bottom. Layer in half of the tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper; spread shallot (or onion)   mixture over top. Add goat cheese ( or mozzarella) and half of the basil, distributing evenly. Layer in remaining tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and vinegar over the tomatoes; top with remaining basil.

In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle evenly over tomato filling.   

Bake 30 minutes, or until topping and crust are golden brown.

PIE CRUST

It REALLY is  worth the trouble to make your own. I've employed several tricks to make it easier. One is to use a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with flour to roll out the pastry on. Another (and I'm almost embarrassed to tell it) is to use the recipe for a two crust pie, even though you need only one crust. The extra dough will give you plenty of overhand to make a pinched edge  and I found that even though I left the pastry a bit thicker, it was delicious and amazingly flaky.

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2/3 cup) vegetable shortening (e.g. Crisco)

A scant 1/3 cup vodka with an ice cube to cool it (trust me, this works SO much better than water to keep the pastry tender

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add the salt to the flour and cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or two  knives. When the mixture looks like coarse meal, sprinkle on the cold vodka, a tablespoon at a time and blend in with a fork. Continue till the mixture begins to hold together and you can form it into a ball. You may need to add a bit more liquid, at this point cold water is fine. 

Roll out the pastry and line your 9 or 10 inch pie pan. (You may have more than you need - bake the scraps with a little sugar sprinkled on them for a sweet treat.)  Prick the crust all over the bottom with a fork and bake (unfilled) for about ten minutes. This pre-baking keeps the rust from getting soggy on the bottom.