Tomato Pie
Tomatoes are uniquely wonderful. Starting as beautiful summery plants, they offer a rainbow of delicious produce, and taste extraordinary in everything they’re in. Perhaps since they're in season for such a short time, I jump at the opportunity to do something special with them. There's no better way to celebrate the season's finest produce than making this rich, indulgent tomato pie.
Caution though: this dish isn't light. Topped with mayonnaise, rich cheeses, and herbs, this isn't your typical light summer dinner recipe. Nonetheless, it has become a family favorite. It would make a great weeknight meal alongside a salad and glass of red wine.
For added color and more variety in flavor, I use several kinds of tomatoes: yellow, orange, purple, red, etc. Use whatever tomatoes you have lying around or enjoy what your fresh market has to offer.
If Gruyere isn't your cheese, you can substitute for something milder, like Swiss. If you aren't a fan of those flavors whatsoever, feel free to pick a cheese combination that you love!
The reason this recipe calls for salting the tomatoes beforehand is so they release their juices. Once this happens, you’ll use a paper towel to soak up this juice. This assures the tomatoes don't release too much liquid during baking and give you the dreaded 'soggy bottom'.
Ways to make this your own :
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup ice water
2 lbs. tomatoes, sliced
kosher salt
olive oil
one medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup Gruyere, grated
1 cup Parmesan, grated
1/4 cup fresh herbs, chopped
To make the pie dough, combine your flour, salt, and butter in a bowl. Make sure the butter is small enough to easily be incorporated into the flour. With a fork or a pastry blender, push the butter into the flour, forming pea-sized lumps. Once most of the butter is incorporated, you can take your fingers and keep crumbling it into smaller and smaller pieces.
Take your ice water, and pour it slowly into the flour mixture tablespoon by tablespoon, stirring after each addition. Once the dough comes together, take your hands and form the dough into a ball.
Cover with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge. Let it chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
Heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a pie pan with butter.
Roll out the chilled pie dough so it covers the pie pan. Trim the sides.
Place a sheet of parchment paper in the middle of the pie. Place ceramic pie weights, dried beans, or rice in the parchment paper. (This is to assure the bottom of the dough doesn’t rise when you blind bake it.) Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Take out to cool and lower the oven temperature to 350.
For the Tomatoes:
Slice the tomatoes and place on a plate, clean countertop, or flat surface. Liberally salt them and let sit for at least 10 minutes or up to 20 minutes. The tomatoes should be sweating and visibly exuding liquid.
Take a paper towel and dab the tomatoes until they’re dry.
For the Onions:
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add in the onion and a pinch of salt. Stir every so often and cook until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Try not to brown the onions. Take off the heat and let cool.
For the cheese topping:
Put the mayonnaise in a bowl. Stir in the cheese and mix until fully incorporated. Add your mixed herbs.
To Assemble:
Take your baked pie dough, and place a layer of tomatoes on the bottom. Sprinkle half of the onions on top of the tomatoes. Repeat with another layer of tomatoes and the rest of the onions. If any tomatoes are leftover after this, put more on top, but make sure the pie isn’t too full.
Cover the tomatoes with the cheese and herb mixture until it’s spread all around. This will be tricky to spread, so if you aren’t able to spread all the way to the edges, that’s fine.
Bake in the a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until the cheese mixture is fully cooked and starting to brown.
Serve and enjoy!