It seems as though I look forward to fresh tomato season and watch my plants fill out, blossom but wait FOREVER.  Well, this year, my plants ripened all at the same time and I have been hard pressed to use up the wonderfully sweet,  juicy and very delicious fruits from the vine quickly enough.  Neighbors on both sides got some, and I have made several of my favorite dishes in the last week.  When Katy came home for a whirlwind stop over a month ago. I made one of her favorites for a late birthday dinner.  It is Summer Tomato Pie.  It has a really buttery crust and is filled with lots of fresh tomatoes, a little bit of cream, cheese and of course, some eggs.  Somehow it is light and rich at the same time.

This dish totally reminds me of summer!  Today it is cool and Fall-like but I salivate just looking at the photos and wish I had a pile of fresh tomatoes to make it again now.  I’m hopeful to begin regular posts again after a crazy summer.  Please feel free to comment on any posts – I look forward to some feedback from the small but faithful following of family and friends who are reading my posts!

The recipe is yet another adapted from a cookbook favorite, The Farm House Cookbook by Susan Hermann Loomis (c. 1991 Workman Pub.). I have followed her recipe and used a pate brisee, or buttery pastry that is frankly a bit difficult to work with – but even if it doesn’t look pretty, it always tastes wonderful.  I’ll include both recipes and the variations I use.

it really does help to have extra cold ice water to blend the pastry

Here the pastry can be pinched together to bind. Stop pulsing with the food processor before it forms into a ball

For the pastry, it is best to follow the instructions to refrigerate the dough before you roll it out, then again when it’s in the pan so that it holds its shape best.  She suggests you let it overhang from the edge of the pie pan and bake for a short time.  Then, she allows you to cut off the part that has dripped over the edge and remove it so that it doesn’t burn.  Pre-baked a bit more and cooled, then its ready to be filled.  I always try to flute the edges beautifully but if you don’t let it overhang enough, the pastry drops back down into the pie pan and bunches up.  You’ll see in my pictures a little bit how this happened to me.  I just hate losing part of the crust – although I always nibble on the tidbits that are cut off!

I attempted to flute the edges and not follow the instructions to let the pastry overhang the top of the pie plate. You can see that is shriveled into the plate and off of the upper ledge. It still worked, but wasn’t very pretty.

I forgot to take photos when I was filling the pastry with the ingredients – this is the pie par baked for about 30 minutes.

I adapt the recipe to make a 10″ pie so the baking time is always more than 55 minutes.  I have leared to try to mound the tomatoes a little more around the outside of the pie instead of a mound in the middle so the egg/custard has a better chance of setting in the middle.  It’s always best to let it sit for 10-15 minutes before serving and tastes just fine at room temperature.  We always serve this as a main course, but it could easily be used as an appetizer with a thin slice.  It tastes particularly good with a green salad with a tart vinaigrette.  I don’t think you need any bread as the crust is very rich.

Pate Brisee (Buttery Pastry)

pastry for a 9" crust with notes at the bottom for converting it to a 10" crust!

preparation time 2 hours with chilling time.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

12 Tbs (1 1/2 sticks) butter chiled and cut into at least 12 pieces

2 Tbs ice water

 

Instructions

place  the flour and salt in a food processor and process briefly to mix.  Add the butter using short pulses to process until the mixture ranges in sizes from sand to small peas.  Add the water and process using several pulses, until the pastry holds together but does not form a ball.

Turn the pastry out onto a msooth lighly floured work surface.  Using the heel of your hand, push the crumbly mixture together without handling it too much.  Gather it into a ball and pat in into a 6″ disc.  Wrap it well in plastic wrap or waxed paper.  Refrigerate for 1-2 hours, overnight is really best.

Proceed with the specific pie recipe.

Notes

for a 10″ crust I use 1 7/8 cup flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 15 TBS butter and 3 Tbs ice water

Summer Tomato Pie

12 appetizer servings or 6 main dish servings

preparation time 4 hours with chill time for the dough

Ingredients

1 recipe buttery pastry, chilled for at least 2 hours after mixing

1 cup heavy cream

2 large eggs

3 tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp. dried

1/2 cup finely grated swiss cheese (like gruyere)

1/2 cup finely grated sharp cheddar cheese

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded and excess juice drained.

 

Instructions

Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to fit a 9″ pie plate.  There will be quite a bit of extra.  Leave it overhanging the pan.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425′

Prebake the pastry:  Place the pan on a baking sheet in the enter of the oven, and bake for about 10 minutes.  Using a very sharp knife, trim off the edges using the outer edge of the pie plate as a guide. Remove scraps if they are small and will burn. Continue to bake the pastry for about 10 more minutes until it is pale gold.  Remove it from the oven and let it cool completely.

Whisk together the cream and eggs in a bowl until well combined.  Add the thyme and garlic. Season with salt and pepper

Coarsely chop the tomatoes and  drain any excess juice.

Place the tomatoes and the cheese into the cooled pastry crust so they are spread out evenly.  I prefer to mound the tomatoes more to the outer edges so that the center will cook  evenly.

Pour the egg mixture over all.

Bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350′ and continue baking util the custard is set and the pie is golden on top, about 55 minutes.

 

 

Notes

Add any additional notes here.