Ultimate tomato pie

C

charley

Well-known member
I was watching Vivian Howard (A Chef's Life, chef/owner of The Chef and Farmer in Kinston, NC) and a pretty old segment about tomatoes. She made tomato pie and this is my take on it. It is worth EVERY step for the finished product.

Caramelize onions.

2-3 medium tomatoes or equivalent. It was about 12 slices of tomatoes. She roasted them to a pretty good char--almost like oven dried tomatoes. I used a couple of sort of "ordinary" red tomatoes and 1 Cherokee purple. I roasted for a while, and finally put them under the broiler to get them to the char. I'll just broil next time. Tasted these and they were just wonderfully concentrated. I would probably do a few more slices next time. Do not crowd.

I cut some Cherokee purples into chunks and let them drain in a strainer--there wasn't really much juice.

She had some yellow plum or cherry tomatoes. I hadn't planned to use any but my Cherokee purples, but in spelunking in my fridge I found a container of small yellow tomatoes (like TJ"s sells) so I quartered them and let them drain also..

Basil leaves

Parbake a pie crust in a deep dish pie plate.

I put a schmear of grainy mustard on the baked crust. Layer the roasted tomatoes, layer of basil leaves, a thin layer of caramelized onions, another layer of basil leaves, rest of the tomato chunks. Good glug of olive oil over all. Good sprinkle of coarse Kosher salt.

Topping--mayo and 8 oz. of shredded pepper jack. Dolloped over the top and spread to smooth. (VH used fontina and parm. I think anything will be pretty good. Asiago might be really good)

Bake at 400* for 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbly. Let sit to set.

It was truly memorable.

 
Me too. Conversely, Nigella Lawson had a wonderful hint to cut cherry tomatoes in half and put

them outside on the serving plate in the direct sun to warm up...then drizzle with dressing and serve.

That ACTUALLY made a difference in the flavor.

 
It's been my experience that it depends on the circumstances. If a tomato is perfectly ripe, a day

or two in the fridge is probably better than on the counter. Of course, best case scenario is eating them soon after they leave the vine but I don't have that option. I have often refrigerated half a tomato for a day and have not noticed an appreciable difference. I think if the tomato has flavor to begin with, a short stay in the fridge doesn't hurt it.

 
You nailed it. I don't put them in the fridge--and if you do, it stops any possible

ripening immediately and they turn mealy rather than ripen. But when fully ripe, it extends their time a bit. These were pre-packaged from Aldi's (TJ's) and they have already been refrigerated.
The same is true of peaches and is the reason I'll never buy a supermarket peach--they have been refrigerated, and will only become mealy.
We are in tomato and peach heaven at the moment!!

 
Right now, we are full swing into tomato season. The growers are finally bringing in the heirlooms,

all the beautiful colors and so many varieties. I store all my tomatoes in a shallow basket on my cool granite counter. Big tomatoes, sit on the stem end. Smaller tomatoes are placed carefully so their weight in on two of the larger tomatoes. Cherry types are in a single layer in the basket, as well. They keep for two weeks on my counter, just fine. I check every day and use the ones that look like they are starting to wrinkle...eat them like candy. Just keep an eye out as if one starts to go, the rest are susceptible, so use it up.

Later in the season, the tomatoes do not keep as well, they begin to wrinkle and weep their juices, which attracts fruit flies. I resort to putting them into the fridge to put off the aging process for as long as it takes to use them up. This is when I start roasting my excess and make tomato sauces and pastes. The cherry tomatoes are in full swing too, and one vine can produce hundreds of the babies, I throw them into the roasting pan whole.

 
I make a tomato thing using puff pastry. It calls for spreading Parmesan cheese on the bottom

before baking...think I will try the mustard version.

 
That was the first time I ever had a "tomato pie"--about 25 years ago at a catered

wedding luncheon we were helping to host. I thought I had died and gone to heaven!!
I think the mustard just adds a little more tang.

 
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