Serves6 (light lunch or brunch)
- Active time:40 min
- Start to finish:2 hr (includes cooling)
August 2009
What’s integral here is a very thin biscuit crust instead of one made of pastry dough. The inspiration is twofold: the tomato pie brought to us in August 1992 by the late novelist and food writer Laurie Colwin and James Beard’s recipe for a quiche-like tomato cheese pie, which appeared in his American Cookery
(1972). It’s fun to imagine inviting the pair of them for lunch and serving this, along with a crunchy green salad and a big, beautiful glass pitcher of iced tea. View more of our favorite recipes from this issue.
-
2
cups
all-purpose flour
-
1
tablespoon
baking powder
-
1 3/4
teaspoons
salt, divided
-
3/4
stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 2 teaspoons melted
-
3/4
cup
whole milk
-
1 3/4
lb
beefsteak tomatoes
-
1/3
cup
mayonnaise
-
2
tablespoons
fresh lemon juice
-
1 1/2
cups
corn (from about 3 ears), coarsely puréed in a food processor, divided
-
2
tablespoons
finely chopped basil, divided
-
1
tablespoon
finely chopped chives, divided
-
1/4
teaspoon
black pepper, divided
-
7
oz
coarsely grated sharp Cheddar (1 3/4 cups), divided
-
Equipment:
a 9-inch glass pie plate
-
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 3/4 tsp salt in a bowl, then blend in cold butter (3/4 stick) with your fingertips or a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal. Add milk, stirring until mixture just forms a dough, then gather into a ball.
-
Divide dough in half and roll out 1 piece between 2 sheets of plastic wrap into a 12-inch round (1/8 inch thick). Remove top sheet of plastic wrap, then lift dough using bottom sheet of plastic wrap and invert into pie plate, patting with your fingers to fit (trim any overhang). Discard plastic wrap.
-
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.
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Cut an X in bottom of each tomato and blanch in a large pot of boiling water 10 seconds. Immediately transfer with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to cool. Peel tomatoes, then slice crosswise 1/4 inch thick.
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Whisk together mayonnaise and lemon juice.
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Arrange half of tomatoes in crust, overlapping, and sprinkle with half of corn, 1 Tbsp basil, 1/2 Tbsp chives, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper.
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Repeat layering with remaining tomatoes, corn, basil, chives, salt, and pepper, then sprinkle with 1 cup cheese.
-
Pour lemon mayonnaise over filling and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
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Roll out remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch round in same manner, then fit over filling, folding overhang under edge of bottom crust and pinching edge to seal.
-
Cut 4 steam vents in top crust and brush crust with melted butter (2 tsp).
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Bake pie until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes, then cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Cooks’ note:
Pie can be baked 1 day ahead and chilled. Reheat in a 350°F oven until warm, about 30 minutes.
