I hadn't turned my oven or stove on in over a week. I felt like a ghost in my kitchen. My dear oven sat unused. My stove beckoned. My heart craved pastry. I had twelve pounds of tomatoes taking up some valuable kitchen real estate. No complaints. I'm just saying. Actually, I'm tickled to death over my abundant tomato harvest this year. I'd even go so far as to say "giddy". The rest of my yard, however, is sporting beige tones. Sigh. I promised myself I'd abstain from whining about this godforsaken summer. I came across a "vintage" tomato pie recipe a few months back. I made a mental note to myself to make said pie once the harvest began. Revisiting the recipe didn't inspire quite the same level of excitement as it had in February. In fact, upon closer inspection, I'd decided I could do much better. Feel free to Google "tomato pie" and you tell me what you think.
I am smitten with the result of my newly created spin on the classic. First of all, it's in a pie shell! Second of all, it's not poured and baked on TOP of a pie shell resulting in a less-than-desirable texture, think: "soggy".
For the pie dough--you are forgoing the usual "roll to 1/8" thickness" and using your hands to gently form the dough until it yields to the warmth of the palms and fingers over a lightly floured counter, then flattening it into the shape of whatever vessel you choose to bake your pie--to about a half inch thickness. Very easy. No stress. The dough recipe I decided to use was the same recipe I used a while back for my Peach Galette. While I didn't solely rely on tomatoes to fill my pie, I kept to the theme of fresh summer and mostly locally grown veggies to support the rest of the dish itself.
Yes. Some baking is required.
I've become a student of pie dough. I am constantly reading techniques on how best to create the most delicious pie dough--flaky, buttery, intensely delish. I believe the galette dough to be one of the best I've had. Thanks again to Flo Braker and her brilliant pastry mind.
Essential to the pie's aroma and filling are fresh herbs from the garden. I had some oregano and basil ready for harvest. (The fact is, I make it a point to ALWAYS have fresh basil and oregano ready in my garden in summer--drought or no drought.)
See what I mean--simple, rustic. No precision required. The only mandatory part of the tomato pie baking process is to chill the dough for at least a half hour in the freezer--then move to the fridge for another twenty minutes--or chill for one hour in the fridge. I added in some cooked wild rice. I felt it added an essential earthiness to the pie's robust summer flair. Also, I felt I needed to give the pie a bit more umph and did so with a few Gardein patties. Your call in that department, of course. Heirloom Tomato Pot Pie with Biscuity-Thick Crust
5-8 heirloom tomatoes chopped2 medium-sized sweet onions chopped1 yellow zucchini halved, then quartered1 green zucchini halved, then quartered2 celery stalks, chopped4-6 cloves garlic minced1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded/minced (*optional, but I had two dozen on hand, to they needed to be used)1 cup cooked wild rice2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar2 tablespoons Earth Balance butter1 cup vegetable stock1-2 Gardein Chick'n patties, cooked and chopped 1/8 cup chopped fresh basil2 stems fresh oreganosalt and pepper to taste1 single or double crust pie dough
Preheat oven to 425. Lightly spray your pie dish with non stick cooking spray. Line a cookie sheet with foil and set aside. Make sure you've prepped the pie dough and have it on stand-by in the fridge. You won't need to spend a whole lot of time rolling it as you are free-form shaping it, so it can be managed toward the end of the veggie cooking. Next, if you are adding wild rice, be sure to get the rice cooking now. For the filling, add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a large saute pan over medium heat and begin adding all the chopped veggies. Allow the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes--until the onions begin to get translucent--stirring every so often. The vegetables in this dish don't need to be cooked until they fall apart--you want to retain some shape as the pie baking time will break the veggies down further. Toward the end of the cooking, add the vegetable broth, then, add the butter. Whisk the butter into the mixture slowly, allowing it to melt and thicken the sauce. Finally, fold in the rice (if using). Remove the pie shell from fridge and over a lightly floured kitchen counter, begin shaping the dough by hand to fit over the pie dish you plan to bake your tomato filling in. Pour tomato filling into the dish. Top with a couple of leaves of fresh basil and fresh oregano. *If you have more tomato mixture than will fit into the pan, no worries, save the extra to use on a sandwich the next day. Place the pie dough over the filling. With a knife, cut small slits in the dough to allow the steam to escape. Place the foil-lined cookie sheet in the oven, then carefully place the pie dish on top of the cookie sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the pie crust begins to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and allow pie to sit for fifteen minutes to cool before serving. This is delicious as a leftover the next day! Enjoy!
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