August 23, 2016
Hi Everybody,
We are entering tomato heaven! Lots of beautiful ripe tomatoes coming in this week’s share.
Since tomatoes have a limited shelf life, a recipe that uses a lot of tomatoes is a good one, I think.
This recipe is for a deep dish tomato pie, adapted from a Food Network recipe. Don’t be put off by the number of ingredients. Your actual work time will only be about 30 minutes.
DEEP DISH TOMATO PIE
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 TBS sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice and kept very cold, plus more for greasing the baking dish
1 TBS white or cider vinegar
1/3 cup ice water, plus more if needed
3 1/2 lbs tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
3 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp light brown sugar
1 TBS olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 TBS fresh thyme leaves
1 cup shredded pepper Jack
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
3 scallions, sliced
1/4 cup plus 1 TBS breadcrumbs
1 small clove garlic, minced
2 TBS unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg, beaten
3. Turn the dough out on a work surface. Pat about two thirds of the dough into a square about 1/2-inch thick. Repeat with the remaining dough. Wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
4. Adjust an oven rack to the bottom position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter an 8-inch-square baking dish.
5. For the filling: Toss the tomatoes with 2 teaspoons salt in a large colander set over a large bowl. Let stand, gently tossing about every 10 minutes, until the tomatoes release some of their juices, about 30 minutes. Drain the juices from the bowl, add the drained tomatoes and toss with the brown sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt.
6. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer the onion to a medium bowl, stir in the thyme and let cool. Add the pepper Jack, mozzarella, parsley, scallions, 1/4 cup of the breadcrumbs and the garlic to the onions and stir to combine.
7. To assemble the pie: Let the dough stand at room temperature for a few minutes until slightly softened to make rolling easier. Place the larger piece of dough between two large pieces of floured parchment or plastic wrap and roll into a rough 14-inch square (if the dough gets too soft, put it in the refrigerator to firm up and then continue rolling). Roll the remaining dough into a rough 12-inch square.
8. Transfer the larger piece of dough to the prepared baking dish. Gently press the dough along the bottom and up the sides of the dish. There will be overhang on all sides. Sprinkle the bottom with the remaining 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs; top with the cheese mixture spreading it in an even layer.
10. Bake until the crust is dark golden brown and the filling bubbles out a little through the slits, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. (If the crust browns too quickly, cover the pie loosely with foil.)
HELPFUL HINT: Tossing the tomatoes with salt helps release some of their juices so you don’t have a soggy pie.