Joe Soucheray's Savory Tomato Pie
Joe Soucheray, resident talk show host and curmudgeon on KSTP AM-1500 in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota mentioned his enjoyment of a savory tomato and onion pie the other day on his show. As usual, he gave no clue as to the recipe, so I dug around, found several recipes, then experimented until I came up with this delicious version of a tomato pie. It's a terrific side dish for a hearty Autumn meal. Or, use it as a main dish.
Prep Time: 45 minutes (can be prepared and refrigerated an hour or two before cooking)
Cooking Time: 60 minutes (includes 15 minute cooling time)
Ingredients
1 package refrigerated pie crust (Two 9" crusts). Keep refrigerated until needed.
12-14 Medium-sized roma tomatoes
1/2 White onion
2 Cups shredded cheese (Cheddar and Jack)
4 Slices bacon
4 TBSP mayonnaise
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp Salt
Pepper
Directions
Follow the order of steps here pretty closely or you'll get discombobulated, for sure.
Put 4 quarts of water in large stockpot and bring to boil. While waiting, make a shallow, x-shaped cut in the pointy ends of the roma tomatoes. Romas are used in this recipe to keep the pie from being too juicy. When water is boiling, put whole tomatoes into boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Remove and cool in cold running water or in a bowl of ice water.
Peel the skins from the tomatoes, starting from the pointy end. The blanching process will let the peels slip off fairly easy. Slice the tomatoes into 1/4" thick round slices. You should end up with three or four slices from each tomato. Put sliced tomatoes in collander. Sprinkle with the salt and add pepper and dried Italian seasoning. Toss gently, then place collander on towel to drain.
While tomatoes drain, cook and crumble or chop the bacon, then put in small container.
Slice the onion half very thinly across the layers and put in a container.
If you didn't buy pre-shredded cheese, grate it now and place in mixing bowl. Mix shredded cheese, bacon, and mayonnaise until cheese is coated. Mixture will be lumpy and sticky. never mind.
Unroll one round of pastry crust and gently press it into a 9" pie pan. Line the bottom completely with slices of tomato. Cover the tomato with a layer of the thinly-sliced onion. Add another layer of tomatoes and onions. Add the cheese, bacon and mayonnaise mix to the top of the pie, distributing evenly. Unroll the top crust and lay on top of pie. Crimp the crust edges together to seal the outside of the pie. Finally, use a paring knive to pierce the top crust in a nice pattern. This allows steam to escape during baking. If you wish, you can refrigerate the assembled pie for an hour or two before baking.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pie on center rack. Bake for 30 minutes, then check crust for doneness. If it's getting too browned, cover the pie loosly with foil. Bake for 15 more minutes. Remove pie from oven and place on cooling rack for 15 minutes before serving. Slice and serve.
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