Variation on a Tomato Pie

[Sony]

Variation on a Tomato Pie

Serves 8 as Main Dish.

This recipe is loosely adapted from Laurie Colwin's "Tomato" essay in More Home Cooking. My changes:

-I made a single crust for the top instead of a double crust (because I don't like soggy pie crust)

-I reduced the butter by about 25%

-I added salt to the crust dough

-I reduced the cheese and subbed a smaller amount of a lower-fat cheese (mozzarella) for cheddar

-I used a reduced-fat mayo

-I used lime juice instead of lemon because that's that I had on hand

-I added leeks to the mix

Perhaps one day I shall actually follow a recipe.....

Preheat oven to 400' F.

Quickly and lightly mix:

3 TB COLD unsalted butter, cut in teeny pieces

1 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt (Morton's)

1/2 cup milk (I used 1% milkfat. Add more by teaspoonfuls if necessary to make a slightly sticky dough)

Roll into an 8-inch round.

Thinly slice tomatoes-I used about 1 pound beefsteak tomatoes. Though I did not do this, I would suggest draining some of the "guts" from the tomatoes because they get awfully juicy when baked.

I also had a leek kicking around in the fridge, so I sliced that up (about 1 cup raw) and sauteed it for addition in a little extra virgin olive oil (about 1/2 tsp).

Assembly:

-1/4 tsp of extra virgin olive oil in the bottom of an 8-inch nonstick cake pan.

-Layer in sliced tomatoes.

-Top with 4 thin layers mozzarella cheese (about 4 oz. total)- just plain part-skim. Would probably be great with good buffalo mozzarella.

-Sprinkle on chopped fresh basil and oregano. (about 1 TB of each).

-Evenly sprinkle with the cooked leeks.

-Pour on 1/4 cup mayo (I used prepared reduced-fat mayo) mixed with the juice of 1/2 lime (about 3 TB)

-Top with the crust and tuck lightly around the tomatoes.

-Slash the top crust a few times.

Place on a baking sheet (in case of any excess burbling) and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the crust is golden. Cool slightly before scooping out to serve.

Keywords: Main Dish, Dinner, Breakfast, Vegetarian, Brunch, Lunch

( RG2022 )