Dear Readers,
Please accept my apologies, I owe you a few posts and I have been writing them in my head. Here are somethings I plan on writing about in coming weeks:
- Five Blogs that I Read
- A Review of Season 3 of the Podcast Invisabilia
- Master of None (TV) Season 2
- Game of Thrones- specifically a certain page in A Dance With Dragons that I believe is very telling
- My Gratitude List
And now on with the show…
Today’s topic- One of My Favorite Summer Recipes
Plum Tomato Goat Cheese Pie
I would say that I have been a very lazy cook lately. We have been eating too much Arby’s and frozen pizza and not enough home prepared food. I wanted to share a recipe with you today that I make about twice a summer. It is from a cookbook that emphasizes eating foods that are currently in season and utilizing fresh local ingredients. I have had this cookbook since I was in graduate school and there are recipes in this book that I go back to year after year. This recipe is one of my favorites because it is relatively simple and so delicious.
In fact last September my husband’s cousins hosted a Pie Making Contest in honor of my husband’s Grandfather’s 96th birthday. Grandpop Nicholson was a big pie fan and a big fan of desserts in general. Yet, I shook up the competition and ended up with a second place ribbon by making this non-traditional savory pie recipe. On Friday night, we had this tomato/ cheese pie with corn-on-the-cob for dinner. I wanted to share it with you today and maybe you will find it to be a satisfying summer dish.
Plum Tomato Goat Cheese Pie –
From the cookbook
Simply in Season
edited by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cup of flour
7 Tablespoons of Butter (chilled)
1/3 Cup of Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
3-4 Tablespoons of Water
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 Egg Yolk
3 Tablespoons of dried breadcrumbs
2 lbs Fresh Plum Tomatoes (sliced)
4 oz Goat Cheese or Feta Cheese (crumbled)
2-4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Handful of Fresh Basil Leaves (chopped)
Directions:
1) Cut together the flour and chilled butter until crumbly.
2) Add the Sharp Cheddar Cheese, 3-4 Tablespoons of water, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the flour and butter crumbles. Mix only until a dough comes together adding more water if necessary. Turn on a floured surface and bring together into a ball. Cover the ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
3) While the dough is being refrigerated, slice your tomatoes into slices.
4) Grease your baking sheet
5) Take your dough out of the refrigerator and roll it out a lightly floured surface into a circle that is about 15 inches in diameter. Wrap pastry around a rolling pin and transport it to baking sheet
6) Brush egg yolk over pastry and sprinkle bread crumbs on top.
7) Arrange tomato slices so they overlap in a circle on top of pastry. Leave a wide border
8) Scatter goat or feta cheese over tomatoes. Turn edge of pastry in over tomato filling brush with remaining egg yolk. If you are low on egg yolk, add a little milk
9) Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
10) After removing pie from oven drizzle it with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and scatter basil leaves on top. Enjoy your pie!
