Fruit Of The Vine

Tomato Avalanche!

Considering the crappy condition of the 2023 garden this is the second picking of tomatoes in 8 days.  These are beauties.

When you have real tomatoes you indulge your tomato itch.  In this case there was tomato pie. 

 

Homemade (sort of) crust, a layer of chopped sweet onions, with a layer of chopped San Marzano tomatoes, a layer of my fresh basil (chiffonade) topped with shredded Gruyère mixed with Duke’s mayonnaise. Three dashes of Tapatío for zing. 

 

Good chow.

 

Normal people would commit high crimes and misdemeanors for tomatoes like these by the time March 2024 rolls-around and Ma Nature is slinging sleet and snow at your windows.....

 

Recipe of the Day

We've been experiencing an avalanche of tomatoes in the last ten days.  Three kinds of cherry tomatoes started a couple of weeks ago and recently the beefsteak, heirloom and plum tomatoes have come on-line.

To be clear, tomatoes have figured significantly in our diet lately.

Today I puttered in the garden, weeding, pruning, picking and planting.  There are radishes and spinach planted for a late harvest.  Lettuces to follow.  Picked tomatoes by the box-full.  

So I put-up four quarts of fresh from the vine tomatoes and baked a yummy tomato pie.

Recipe here.....

Tomato Pie

Ingredients

• 1 9-inch pie shell (see pie crust recipe for homemade version)

• 1/2 cup chopped yellow or red onion (about 1/3 onion)

• 3 to 4 tomatoes, cut in half horizontally, squeezed to remove excess juice, roughly chopped, to yield approximately 3 cups chopped tomatoes

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 cup sliced basil (see recipe note)

• 2 cups (8 ounces/225 g) grated cheese (combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, or Gruyere or Mozzarella)

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) Frank's Hot Sauce or Tabasco

• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Pre-bake the crust:

Preheat your oven to 425°F.

If you are like me and are using a store-bought pie shell, follow the directions on the package for pre-baking, or pre-bake it in the oven for about 12 minutes (a little longer for a frozen pie shell), until lightly browned.

If you are using a homemade crust, freeze the crust first, then press a sheet of aluminum foil into the crust to keep the sides of the pie crust from falling down as it cooks. Fill the pie with pie weights such as dry beans or rice to help hold the foil in place.

1. Salt and drain the tomatoes:

2. Lightly salt the chopped tomatoes and set them in a colander over a bowl to drain while you are pre-baking the crust. Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, using either paper towels, a clean dish towel, or a potato ricer. 

    

   

3. Layer pre-baked pie shell with onions, tomatoes, basil:

4. Sprinkle a layer of chopped onion over the bottom of your pre-baked pie crust shell.

Spread the drained chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes.

5. Make cheese mixture, spread over tomatoes:

6. In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, Tabasco, a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper.

The mixture should be the consistency of a gooey snowball. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes. 

 

7. Bake:

8. Place in oven and bake at 350°F (175°C) until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes.

    
    
   Pro Tip - 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.

*This recipe calls for slicing fresh basil using a technique called chiffonade. To do this, stack the basil leaves on top of each other, roll them up like a cigar, starting at one end slice the "cigar" crosswise in thin slices.

 

How to Make Tomato Pie

What to do when you have  a tomato avalanche?  Make pie!  And here's a simple recipe using ingredients you probably already having laying-about in your kitchen and freezer.

Start with a frozen pie crust and prick it all over with a fork.  Line the top of the crust with foil - pressing it down and crimping it around the edges.  Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  Reduce the oven to 350, remove the foil and bake and additional 10 minutes until golden brown.  Set aside to cool completely.

click on images to enlarge

 

Take a big pile of cherry tomatoes - red and yellow impart a pleasing result to both the eye and palate - and cut them in halves or quarters depending upon size.  Set aside to drain in a bowl lined with paper towels.  Swap-out the towels periodically until a large portion of the clear juices have been absorbed.

In another bowl whisk-together 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil with oregano, basil, fresh cracked pepper and sea salt.  Stir-in the tomatoes and set aside.

Slice some pitted kalamata Greek olives  - maybe a half to 2/3 cup give or take.  Set aside.

Coarsely-grate some cheese.  I used Mexican cheese because that was what I had.  Crumbled goat cheese would be excellent too.  Consider the choice of cheese a personal taste.  Figure on a cup.  Set aside.

Return your olive and spice-infused tomatoes to a paper towel-lined bowl to drain just a bit.

Add your tomatoes to the pie crust and bake uncovered for 14-15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Remove and top with the olives followed by the cheese.  Sprinkle some basil over the top and bake for an additional 10 minutes at 400 or until the cheese melts and begins to brown.  Note:  crumbled goat cheese and other cheeses will behave differently.

Remove from the oven and allow to set for about 10 additional minutes and serve.

Jill and I ate the whole dang thing in one sitting.  This was a nice blend of flavors including the tang of the tomatoes, earthiness of the EVO, saltiness of the olives and dairy cheese.

Already thinking of variations to include fresh spinach, baby mozzarella, flat bread, pizza crust and more.

Cheers!