Although we did make it out to the garden early for some tomato picking and cut flower arranging, the rain kept us inside for most of the day today.  Things sure do jump when we get a few days of thunderstorms sprinkled in between the sunny days.  And sometimes with all that growth you get cracked tomatoes, which calls for immediate consumption!

Fresh cut flowers for our farm stand!

A few of our favorite heirloom tomatoes: Mortgage Lifter, Nebraska Wedding, Black Krim, Wapsipinicon Peach, Pineapple

I’ve seen a few tomato pie recipes floating around on social media, but when I went hunting for recipes I decided to make my own without mayo, lard or shortening.  Here’s the how-to:

Hot Water Crust (Yes, this is a nod to The Great British Baking Show! If you haven’t seen it set, your DVR now!)

• 6 tbsp butter-this mixes way easier if the butter is room temperature
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp milk
• 1/8 cup boiling water
• 1 & 1/4 cups flour

For the Filling

• Tomatoes-about 4 medium sized tomatoes (In this pie: 1 Mortgage Lifter, 1 Black Krim, 1 Nebraska Wedding, 1 Pineapple, 2 Wapsipinicon Peach)
• A handful of fresh basil
• A few cloves of garlic
• ½ lb mozzarella
• A few dollops of ricotta

Directions:

Make the crust: Mix butter, salt, milk and boiling water in a large bowl.  Go ahead and use the food processor if your butter is cold.  Once that is all together, mix in the flour until it all comes together in a soft, smooth dough.  Press the dough into your 9” pie dish.  There is quite a bit of butter in the crust, but I lightly buttered the pie dish as well-just in case!

John and Violet clowning around while I prepped dinner!

Preheat the oven to 400F

Slice your tomatoes and let them drain while the oven is preheating.  Arrange your tomatoes in a pretty layer with sliced mozzarella, tucking in bits of minced garlic, dollops of ricotta, and basil leaves as you make your way around the pie. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake for about an hour or until the crust is golden brown and the tomatoes and mozzarella bubble and bind together.  Cooking time may vary due to moisture content in the tomatoes and cheese.  Let pie set and cool for at least 15 minutes before eating.

I’d love to tell you that this pie feeds a lot of people, but the two of us just ate the entire thing.  And it was wonderful.

Pair with a rosé from Provence or a minerally Chablis. Stay away from wines that are overly ripe, as the more forward new world flavors often (but not always) clash with the tomatoes.

Enjoy! Tiffany & John