Simple and Devine....all at the same time.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tomato_pie/

 

I have had this recipe book marked for about a year or so.  I think I was going to make it when P&T were down last year but didn't get around to it.  Sure wish I would have!   Anyways, Elise has republished it and I'm so glad that she did!

It really is easy to tweak and I'll inject into the recipe where I did.  I think next time, we will add mushrooms.  But we will saute' them up with the onions before adding to the pie so that there won't be a lot of added water.

Tomato Pie Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 55 minutes

If you want to take this recipe up a notch, you can caramelize the onions while prepping the other ingredients. If you do that, double the amount of onion.

Ingredients

• 1 9-inch pie shell (see pie crust recipe for homemade version) (I used puff pastry cuz that is what I had)
• 1/2 yellow or red onion, chopped
• 3-4 tomatoes, cut in half horizontally, squeezed to remove excess juice, roughly chopped, to yield approximately 3 cups chopped tomatoes  (Romas are nice for this as they aren't so juicy...just need more to get your 3 cups worth.)
• 1/4 cup sliced basil (about 8 leaves)*
• handful of parsley
• 2 cups grated cheese (combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, or Gruyere or Mozarella)  (we used shredded jack and some cotswold...very similar to a cheddar)
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise (I used thick yogurt.  less fat and its what I had.)
• 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) of Frank's Hot Sauce (or Tabasco)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

*To slice basil, chiffonade them by stacking the leaves on top of each other, roll them up like a cigar, starting at one end slice the "cigar" crosswise in thin slices.

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pie shell puff pastry in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or longer until lightly golden. If you are starting with a frozen crust, you'll need to cook it a little longer. If you are using a homemade crust, freeze the crust first, then line the crust with aluminum foil and pre-bake it for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.  With the puff pastry, the center will rise...don't worry, when you put everything in, it will sink.  By letting it puff, it won't get gummy and chewy.
2 Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, using either paper towels, a clean dish towel, or a potato ricer.  Can't stress this enough.  And save the juice....so yummy...put in ice cube trays...great to add to broths and stews and anywhere you need a little flavor punch!
3 Sprinkle the bottom crust with chopped onion. Spread the chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes.
Photos on the link above.
4 In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, yogurt, hot sauce, a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper. The mixture should be the consistency of a gooey snow ball. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes.
5 Place in oven and bake until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes.  (our oven seems low all of the time so we had to go the full 45.  We even cranked it up to about 375 for about 10 miniutes.  Just watch that you don't burn the crust.  You really don't have anything like eggs to cook, so don't worry if you pull it out sooner.  But aim for some browned cheese and crust)
Yield: Serves 6.

You really should try this.   Very easy and oh' so yummy!    Oh, and we enjoyed eating it a just warmer than room temperature.   We are going to try the leftovers right out of the fridge today.  Should be just as good!