Tomato Pie

My friend Shandi made tomato pie for dinner on Friday night. Being the most kind and generous person I know, she gave us 2 slices to share. My first reaction to tomato pie was a little bit of dry heaving, but being tactful, I graciously accepted. Oh. My. Gosh. Heaven. There are no other words to explain the sheer yummy deliciousness that was this dinner. If you remotely like tomatoes then this is a M-U-S-T. I kid you not. And not to mention her homemade pie crust was out of this world. Slight problem however. I have asked her now THREE times to e-mail me the recipe and have yet to receive it. So I took it upon myself to search the internet. So here you have it:

Ingredients

• 4 tomatoes, peeled and sliced
• 10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1 (9-inch) prebaked deep dish (homemade would be best if you have the time)
• 1 cup grated mozzarella
• 1 cup grated cheddar (she just used mozzarella)
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the tomatoes in a colander in the sink in 1 layer. Sprinkle with salt and allow to drain for 10 minutes.

Layer the tomato slices, basil, and onion in pie shell. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the grated cheeses and mayonnaise together. Spread mixture on top of the tomatoes and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

To serve, cut into slices and serve warm.

I am going to give this crust a try tonight:

All Butter Crust for Sweet and Savory Pies (Pâte Brisée)

Posted by Elise on Sep 16, 2004

Filed under Bakery

Pâte brisée (pronounced paht bree-ZAY) is a standard all-butter pastry dough used for making pies and tarts.

All Butter Crust for Sweet and Savory Pies (Pâte Brisée) Recipe

This recipe makes 1 pâte brisée crust, enough for one tart. If you are making a pie with a bottom and top crust, double this recipe and form two discs of dough instead of one.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar (increase to 1 1/2 teaspoons if for a sweet recipe)
• 2 to 4 Tbsp ice water, very cold

METHOD

1 Start by cutting the sticks of butter into 1/2-inch cubes and placing in the freezer for at least 15 minutes (preferably longer) so that they become thoroughly chilled.

Dough is ready to shape into discs.

2 In a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar, pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse 6 to 8 times, until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size pieces of butter. Add water 1 Tablespoon at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready, if not, add a little more water and pulse again.

3 Remove dough from machine and place on a clean surface. Carefully shape into a discs. Do not over-knead the dough! You should still be able to see little bits of butter in the dough. These bits of butter are what will allow the result crust to be flaky. Sprinkle the disc with a little flour on all sides. Wrap the disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

4 Remove the crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle some flour on top of the disk. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12 inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. As you roll out the dough, use a metal spatula to check if the dough is sticking to the surface below. Add a few sprinkles of flour if necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Gently fold in half. Place on to a 9-inch pie plate, lining up the fold with the center of the pan. Gently unfold and press down to line the pie dish with the dough.