LUCY BURDETTE: this is my favorite time of the year for produce – the big tomatoes, peppers, okra, peaches, cantaloupe, cucumbers! And do not let me forget corn on the cob.
Once again, lots of critters have ravaged John’s garden, but they don’t seem to care much for tomatoes. So we have a bumper crop! What to do? Time to make a tomato pie. In the past, I’ve made this one with a cornmeal crust, which was quite delicious.
But I saw another recipe on Once Upon a Chef that I wanted to try. This one involves roasting tomatoes and onions, and then baking with cheese and a cheese mayonnaise topping. A bit labor-intensive, but she assured future cooks that it was quite OK to purchase a crust from the freezer department in your grocery store. Usually I make my own, but with the end of my book in sight, I thought I’d try it. SPOILER ALERT: It was rich and delicious!
Ingredients
1 nine-inch frozen (or homemade) pie crust (not deep-dish)
2 lbs tomatoes, cored, seeded, and cut into ¾-inch pieces
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, or more to taste
½ cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded fontina cheese
⅓ cup grated Pecorino Romano
Preheat the oven to 375
Combine the sliced onions and chopped tomatoes on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Add the olive oil, pepper, thyme, sugar. Mix that all together and spread the vegetables out into one layer. Roast until beginning to brown, about 45 minutes.
Let the pie crust thaw 10 minutes and then prick all over with a fork so it doesn’t puff up. Remove the vegetables from the oven and bake the pie crust until beginning to color, 10-12 minutes.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup of fontina to cover the bottom of the crust. Mix the basil into the tomatoes and spread the vegetables over the cheese.
Mix the mayonnaise with the remaining cheeses and dollop this on top. Spread into a thin layer. Bake the pie until bubbly and golden, 25-30 minutes. Serve with a simple green salad. You can eat this hot out of the oven, or at room temperature.
Here’s a bonus recipe for tomato pie via Michael Ruhlman via Ann Hood, who borrows and shines Laurie Colwin’s recipe. (Remember her? Amazing food and fiction writer who died way, way way too young.)
Are you mad for garden-grown tomatoes as I am? What’s your favorite way to eat them?
Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including USA Today bestselling A POISONOUS PALATE and A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. Join the mailing list here so you don't miss news about the Key West series and Lucy!
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