Heirloom Tomato Pie

Bev had several good looking heirloom tomatoes from the Amish market that needed to be used and she opted to turn them into a tomato pie, which we all enjoy.  She selected this recipe fromSouthern Living but she used refrigerated pie dough with Parmesan sprinkled in the bottom and it needed 50% more tomatoes for her 10.5” diameter dish.

Heirloom Tomato Pie - Lightly adapted from Southern Living

Ingredients:

3 pounds assorted medium to large heirloom tomatoes

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

6 thick-cut bacon slices, diced (Benton’s)

2 large shallots, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (2 tsp.)

6 ounces aged extra-sharp white Cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 large egg 

Parmesan-Buttermilk Crust (Link for crust)

Fresh basil leaves

Minced fresh chives

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. and prebake crust as directed.

2. Cut tomatoes into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place about 7 or 8 slices (enough to cover top of pie) on a baking sheet lined with paper towels, and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Cover with additional paper towels, and reserve.

3. Arrange remaining tomatoes in a single layer on a lightly greased wire rack set on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Bake in preheated oven until wilted and slightly dried out, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

4. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a skillet over medium-high until fat is beginning to render, 4 to 5 minutes. 

6. Add chopped shallots, and cook until bacon is crisp and shallots are caramelized, 6 to 7 more minutes. 

7. Stir in garlic; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon mixture to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Cool 20 minutes.

8. Stir together cheese, mayonnaise, basil, chives, Dijon, and egg until combined. Sprinkle with pepper and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Fold in bacon mixture.

9. Gently spread a third of cheese mixture onto Parmesan-Buttermilk Crust; layer with half of the roasted tomato slices in slightly overlapping pattern. 

10. Spread another third of cheese mixture on top of tomato slices. Repeat with remaining roasted tomato slices and cheese mixture. 

11. Top with reserved sliced fresh tomatoes, pressing filling gently into crust. Shield edges of pie with aluminum foil.

12. Bake in preheated oven until filling is set, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let stand 1 hour before serving. Sprinkle with basil and chives (Bev forgot this).

We all thought it was totally delicious and it will be the go-to recipe from now on - I can imagine it being even better using their crust recipe.  With the salted tomatoes and salty Benton’s bacon, no additional salt was needed but she did pepper the tomatoes a little.

Her first crust for the pie ended in a failure as it all fell to the bottom during baking but she decided to make lemonade with this lemon.  For breakfast the next morning, she turned it into a breakfast pizza by topping the baked crust with shredded cheddar, cooked breakfast sausage, sautéed onion & bell pepper, roasted red pepper, and more cheese.  Then she baked it to melt the cheese and topped it with scrambled egg to serve.

It was very good and an excellent use of the crust.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

7/7/20 event date