Tomato Garden Pie, then and now

I first posted this recipe here on my blog in 2009 during something called Summer Fest on Margaret Roach’s A Way to Garden 

I made this amazing tomato pie again this weekend in 2018 with Green Zebra Tomatoes grown by my friend named Karon. Karon had never grown them before and neither of us had ever tasted them, so we did a live first time tasting during a Karen England’s Shop Facebook live video that was really a hot sauce tasting of a sauce made with Karon’s four different varieties of hot peppers that she grew,  . . . but back to the tomatoes. I used my magnificent french rolling-pin from Brooklyn Bowyer.

This is my version of a Paula Deen recipe.

Crust:

1 1/4 cups Organic all-purpose flour

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, optional

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

4 tablespoons unsalted cultured butter, chilled and diced

4-6 tablespoons cold water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place flour, cheese & salt in the bowl of a mixer & cut in the butter until it looks like pebbles. Add the cold water a tablespoon at a time until the dough sticks together. Chill one hour. Roll out and line a 9 –inch glass pie plate. Prick  the crust with a fork all over and pre-bake 7 – 15 minutes until just starting to color. Remove from oven to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Filling:

4 large tomatoes, 5 medium tomatoes, or 6 smaller tomatoes, sliced or several cups of green zebra tomatoes, halved

1 cup roughly chopped fresh herbs – such as a mix of basils, (lemon, Greek columnar & sweet) & parsley (flat leaf & curly)

1/2 cup chopped green onion

zest of one lemon, optional (if making homemade mayonnaise, use zest from that lemon)

1 cup each grated cheddar & Monterey jack cheese

1 cup mayonnaise (preferably homemade*)

salt & pepper, to taste

In a bowl mix together the mayonnaise & cheeses.

Layer the tomato slices, herbs, onion, zest, if using, salt & pepper in the pie shell. Spread the cheese mixture on top of the tomatoes and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until lightly browned.

*Basic Blender Mayonnaise –from Fannie Farmer (really Marion Cunningham)

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 cup combination of oils, 1/4 cup olive & 3/4 cup vegetable

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon boiling water

salt to taste

Place egg, 1/4 teaspoon salt, mustard & 1/4 cup olive oil in the blender. Turn it on and slowly add the remaining 3/4 cup of oil in a thin slow stream. Add the lemon juice & water. Taste & correct the seasoning if needed. Refrigerate until needed. makes 1 1/2 cups.