Heirloom Tomato Pie

Bev made this delicious tomato pie back in 2020 but she used a refrigerator pie crust and too large of a dish so this time she followed the recipe as written beginning with the pie crust.  Here is the link to the original recipe.

Parmesan-Buttermilk Pie Crust

The Ingredients:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

3 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely shredded (about 1 packed cup)

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

¼ cup cold solid vegetable shortening, cubed

6 tablespoons buttermilk (Bev added a little more)

The Directions:

1. Pulse flour, cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in food processor until combined. 

2. Add butter and shortening. Pulse until butter and shortening are pea size pieces, about 5 times. 

3. Drizzle in buttermilk processing until dough begins to just come together.

4. Gather and lightly knead dough into a ball on a large piece of plastic wrap; flatten into disk and wrap tightly. Chill at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

5. Preheat oven to 400°F. 

6. Roll dough on a floured surface into a 15- to 16-inch circle about 1/3 inch thick. 

7. Transfer to a 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Trim edges leaving a 1-inch overhang. Fold edges under and crimp. Freeze dough at least 20 minutes.

8. Line piecrust with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 400°F 20 minutes.  Remove parchment and weights and bake until edges are golden and bottom of crust is set, about 8 more minutes. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.  

9. Remove parchment and weights and bake until edges are golden and bottom of crust is set, about 8 more minutes. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Start early as the crust requires 3 hrs. and 20 minutes resting, baking, and cooling plus 30-40 minutes to make it before it is ready to fill, so about 4 hours total. 

Heirloom Tomato Pie

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

Fresh basil leaves

Minced fresh chives

Directions:

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

2. While crust is baking, 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. (we baked for an hour and it was still just warm in the middle, so 1¼ hr. should have been about right for our oven.) Transfer to a wire rack, and let stand 1 hour before serving. Sprinkle with basil and chives (Bev forgot this for the whole pie).

The Verdict:

It was totally awesome and we all loved it, but in spite of that, Bev said she wasn’t likely to make it again as she felt like she’d just cooked a full Thanksgiving meal and it definitely needs to be started early to have for supper as the total time required is 6-7 hours depending upon how long you let it cool - about 10 minutes for us.

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

08/02/22 meal dates