Tomato Pie

I think by now you probably know what some of my food preferences are. Largely, I'm way into breakfast, bread and dessert. I'm trying to be in to vegetables - particularly tomatoes. And, to be totally truthful, most of the time I'm choking those tomatoes down.

That's why when my mom proposed this recipe I kind of raised my eye brows and said um, no. Then, a couple of weeks later she rather emphatically (in the sweetest way that only my mom can) stated we would be making tomato pie, and would I mind making the crust? With my new found love for pie crust - thanks to this recipe and this very cool cookbook - I begrudgingly said yes.

To sum it up, I loved this recipe. Actually loved it. Like would make it on a regular basis and would buy tomatoes to make it. Somehow, such a simple recipe completely transforms the tomatoes into a warm, gooey, cheesy, bacony mess wrapped up in one of my favorite forms of gluten. Next time, I'll probably tweak the recipe by adding more cheese, some roasted garlic to the tomatoes and a little cracked pepper - but the first run was darn near perfection.

This recipe is just a little bit time consuming, which kind of made it the perfect thing for my mom and I to tag team (though we accidentally made the cheese topping twice due to a lack of communication - we have different definitions of "build").

I can't think of a better way to use the last of summer's tomatoes. In an effort not to post all apple and donut recipes this week, I bring you tomato pie.

Recipe from Sensational Sides

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt
1/4 c. butter, cubed and cold
1/4 c. shortening, cubed and cold
1/4 c. ice cold water
4 tomatoes, medium
1/2 c. basil
1 c. mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. cheddar cheese
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
Dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 c. crumbled, cooked bacon

Directions:

1. Slice tomatoes in 15-16 total slices. Place sliced on a baking rack placed over a sheet pan with edges. Lightly salt the tomato sliced and let them sit about 15 minutes to get rid of some of the juices.
2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Rub butter and shortening into flour mixture until crumbly. Stir in enough water until it forms a stiff dough. Roll the pie crust out into a circle on a lightly floured surface and place in pie tin. Prick the bottom of the pie crust and parbake it at 375 for 6 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. 
3. Pat the tomato slices dry with paper towels. Arrange half of the tomato slices on the pie crus. Sprinkle with 1/4 c. of basil. Add the rest of the tomato slices and sprinkle with the rest of the basil.
4. Combine the mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, cayenne and bacon in a small bowl. Spread the mixture over the top. Bake until browned 30 to 35 minutes. Cover the top with a loose ten of aluminum foil to keep the cheese from burning and continue cooking about 15 minutes longer. 
5. Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool for at least 20 minutes. They're actually serious about that one. We had some burned mouths at my house.