Ronni Lundy's Tomato Pie

A few months ago, I finally bought Ronni Lundy's mountain South cooking staple Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes, and Honest Fried Chicken, after hearing its praises sung for years.  My friend Lora always said that when she first met her husband, she knew he was a keeper, because he had the cookbook on his shelf. I'm not sure what took me so long to acquire it, but I have a lot of catching up to do, just as Ronni is about to release another highly touted book, Victuals, due out at the end of the month.

Faced with a glut of heirloom tomatoes, as one often is in the month of August, I went looking for a new tomato pie recipe, and reached first for Shuck Beans. The recipe, as Ronni says, is a traditional version of the Southern restaurant favorite stewed tomatoes, and as I say, is not to be confused with pizza, Philly/South New Jersey tomato pie, or for that matter, sweet green tomato pie. It bakes up easily with a simple top crust, and is an ideal side dish for a summer dinner on the porch.

Tomato Pie
Adapted from Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes, and Honest Fried Chicken by Ronni Lundy

Ingredients
For the crust:
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup buttermilk

For the filling:
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup white onion, chopped
3 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes and juice, peeled and chopped (1 large 28 1/2 oz. can tomatoes also works)
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh basil, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt, then use fingers to work in the 2 Tablespoons of butter. Pour buttermilk into the flour mixture and stir until well blended but still damp. Turn out onto a floured board and roll into an 11-inch circle (or the size of your large cast-iron skillet). Cut into strips about an inch wide for the lattice top.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Melt the Tablespoon of butter into a skillet. Add onions and cook until softened. Meanwhile, drain juice from the tomatoes and add milk to the juice. Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and spices into the tomato juice and milk mixture until well blended.  Pour into skillet and turn heat to medium. Add the tomatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

3. Let the mixture boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Lay the strips of dough over the top of the tomato mixture, weaving to make a lattice, if desired. The tomato mixture will bubble up through the strips to flavor them.

4. Place skillet in the oven and bake for 25 minutes until the dough is golden-brown. Enjoy as a side dish, perhaps with a salad and chicken or fish.

Related recipes:
Heirloom Tomato Hand Pies with Bacon, Cheddar, and Thai Basil Jalapenos
Pimento Cheese and Tomato Pie
Savory Heirloom Tomato-Ricotta Galette
Tomato, Bacon and Jalapeno Pie

The Friday Pie Slice: Homemade Bagel Edition

1st slice. I love making homemade bagels and Peter Reinhart's recipe via Smitten Kitchen has never failed me. I generally stick to the classics-- sesame seed, poppy seed, salt, and everything-- but tend to go wild with different flavored butters and cream cheeses.

2nd slice. I shared my Pimento Cheese and Tomato Pie recipe and some Green Tomato Pie history in the Washington Post Express this week. Find the recipe here and article here.

3rd slice. If you're making pimento cheese, you're going to need some mayo. Chefs share their penchant for Duke's Mayonnaise, accompanied with illustrations by my friend Emily Wallace, in Garden & Gun.

The tasty crumbs. SAVEUR recently profiled Indiana Sugar Cream Pie. Find Hoosier Mama's recipe here.

Heirloom Tomato Hand Pies with Bacon, Cheddar & Thai Basil Jalapenos

A couple of weeks ago I head the real pleasure of working with the menswear collective MUTINY DC, along with creative director Morgan Hungerford West and photographer Justin T. Gellerson to develop a summer heirloom tomato pie recipe.

I've been keen on Green Tomato Pies this summer, inspired by Richmond chef Travis Milton and the rave reviews I'd heard of his fried pies at the Appalachian Food Summit. When MUTINY suggested using the unripe summer fruit in hand pies, my mind went to savory and to fond memories of this Tomato Bacon Jalapeno Pie I made for a Buckeye Banjo party a couple of years ago.

Subbing in Gordy's Thai Basil Jalapenos gives this recipe its D.C. bearings and complicates the flavor. The result is an adult take on the classic BLT sandwich--my favorite way to enjoy fresh tomatoes--ripe and green--from the backyard garden.

If you end up having leftover filling, save it and scramble it with eggs the next morning for a killer breakfast.

The other delight of this project, was that the folks at Etto generously let us work in their handsome kitchen, meaning I got to bake these pies (and cook the bacon!) in the beautiful wood-fired oven. Ever had bacon cooked in a brick oven? It's practically DOUBLE SMOKED. I highly recommended it.

Heirloom Tomato Hand Pies with Bacon, Cheddar, and Thai Basil Jalapenos

Makes 8-10 hand pies, depending on size

Ingredients

Nothing in the House Pie Crust*

3/4 lbs. heirloom tomatoes, half green/unripe and half ripe (meaty varieties are best), diced

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 1/2 c. sharp cheddar, shredded

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c. Gordy's Thai Basil Jalapenos, diced and drained

4 oz. bacon, cooked and diced or crumbled

2 Tblsp. fresh basil, julienned and then halved into small strips

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

1 beaten egg + 1 tsp. milk/cream for egg wash

Flake sea salt, for dusting

Directions

1. Prepare Nothing-in-the-House pie crust as per the directions. Once chilled, roll out dough onto a floured surface and cut into rectangles of equal size. Place cut crust on parchment paper on a baking sheet and return to chill in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

2. Place diced tomatoes in a colander and place in a large mixing bowl or kitchen sink. Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and toss, then let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while the juices drain.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl combine cheddar, minced garlic, drained jalapenos, cooked bacon, basil, cayenne pepper, if using, and the drained tomatoes. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

4. Remove cut dough from the fridge and mound filling in the center of half of the cut rectangles. Brush edges of dough with cold water and place a matching piece of dough on top. Press the edges with a fork to seal. Brush hand pies with egg wash, sprinkle with flake sea salt, and cut a steam vent in the top of each with a fork.

5. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, bake hand pies for 35-40 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Filling will be bubbling and crust will be golden brown when done. Transfer pies to a cooling rack and let cool slightly. Serve still warm.

*Tad suggested using a partial lard crust, and I agree that it would be a great complement to the filling. You can replace half the butter in this recipe with leaf lard, or use your favorite butter/lard pie crust recipe.

See MUTINY DC for the original post. Photos by Justin T. Gellerson

Green Tomato Pie

"The pie connoisseurs who have been enumerating and classifying the different brands of pie in print of late have been guilty of a grievous omission in leaving out green tomato pie. Like sweet potato pie, the green tomato articled is indigenous to the southern section of the great pie belt, but there it is in high favor. There is no geographical reason why it should not become equally popular up North. The tomatoes distinguishing it are sliced and stewed in sugar in a way very taking to the sweet tooth, but they must first of all be green. Pie is still hopelessly unfashionable, but now that the doctors have come out with a denial that it is unhealthy, it bids fair to be in for a new lease of popularity, in which green tomato pie deserves to be included."

From "Don't Forget Green Tomato Pie," Washington Post, March 12, 1901 (p. 6)



Over one hundred years later and Green Tomato Pie may still be in need of this rallying cry. Fitting squarely in the family of "nothing in the house" or desperation pies, with apple pie-like seasoning, Green Tomato Pie is a kissing cousin to the mock apple, mincemeat, and funeral pie varieties. But it is decidedly its own unique entity. Green Tomato Pie, made from unripe tomatoes, is earthy and masculine, teetering on that savory-sweet divide, erring just towards the dessert side of things. It's one of those pies you don't see often on restaurant menus, and when you do you know you're somewhere special. It's more likely that when you encounter it, it'll be homemade, offered at an Amish market, a potluck, or in a "pie belt" kitchen in late summer, when the tomato vines are hanging heavy, gardens and kitchen counters overflowing with fruit. 

Appearing in cookbooks in the late 1800s, Green Tomato Pie seems to always have had a rural identity, with its footing in the Midwest and the South. Some claim it as an Amish or Mennonite recipe, but it has other lineages that may or may not overlap, African-American and prairie among them.


This version is an amalgam of a few different recipes I've come across, including Travis Milton's, the chef at Richmond, Virginia's Comfort and the man behind the Appalachian Food Summit's green tomato hand pies, of which I've heard such rave reviews. I also incorporated some ingredients from Nancie McDermott's Green Tomato Pie, as well as the Mennonite recipe my dad uses, which includes apples and raisins. 

This recipe really showcases the sorghum and molasses flavor--if you're not a fan of those ingredients, this may not be the pie for you (or you can opt to substitute with brown sugar or maple syrup). The sorghum does make it a little runny, which I don't mind, but if that's a pet peeve of yours, that might be another reason for a sugar substitution or adding a little additional thickener. This would also be a great pie to bake in a skillet, as Travis does, and serve with buttermilk ice cream and a glass of rye.

Green Tomato Pie

Inspired by a few recipes including Nancie McDermott's and Travis Milton's

Ingredients
Nothing in the House pie crust
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup sorghum or molasses (I used sorghum)
4 Tblsp. cornstarch or all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups (about 3 1/2 lbs) green tomatoes, thinly sliced into wedges (make sure these are unripe tomatoes, not ripe green heirloom tomatoes!)
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into small chunks
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice or 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Egg wash (1 large egg whisked with 1 Tablespoon whole milk or heavy cream)
Turbinado sugar, for dusting

Directions
1. Prepare Nothing in the House pie crust as per the directions. After chilling the dough for at least 1 hour, roll out half of the crust and fit into a 9-inch greased and floured pie pan or a greased 9-inch skillet. Place pan and unrolled crust back into the fridge while you prepare the filling.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the sugars, sorghum or molasses, thickener, spices, salt, and sliced green tomatoes, stirring everything together with a wooden spoon until  tomatoes are coated and everything is well-combined.

3. Pour the filling into the pie crust and arrange them so that they're mounded slightly in the center. Scatter the butter pieces over the filling and sprinkle on the lemon juice or vinegar.

4. Roll out the remaining pie crust and cut and arrange into a lattice or crust design of your choice. Seal and crimp edges. Brush crust with egg wash and sprinkle with Turbinado sugar.

5. Bake pie on a baking sheet (this is to catch any drips) and bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees F. Lower heat to 350 degrees F and bake 40-50 minutes more, until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling throughout. Once baked, let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.



Related recipes: Apple Fried Pies
Cracker Pie aka Mock Apple Pie
Funeral Pie
Grandma Good's Green Tomato Pie
Savory Heirloom Tomato-Ricotta Galette

Tomato, Bacon & Jalapeño Pie at Turkey Scratch

I think I found heaven last month. It's in a Virginia holler outside of Blacksburg, at the home of Greg and Cindy Galbreath of Buckeye Banjos during their annual Turkey Scratch party. We arrived Friday night, and after driving up the long twisty driveway along a dirt road, we suddenly came upon a clearing, with multiple buildings lit with tiny glowing lights, folks milling about, and the sound of fiddle tunes in the air. As we approached these welcome sights and sounds, the buildings came into focus. There was a beautiful porch-wrapped home, made by Greg and Cindy; a banjo workshop with a loft, a pig-roasting shack, a chicken coop, and a little pavilion with an outdoor kitchen, where a jam was already in progress. After finding friends and the kegerator, we held a little square dance in the pavilion, and capped off the night with a 1am hot dog roast in the outdoor kitchen. Then it was off to bed in the banjo workshop, anxious to see what this little haven looked like in the daylight.

It was even dreamier than I imagined, as we were graced with the most perfect fall day. Friends and I went for a walk along the trails on the property, played around-the-world micro-pong (portable ping-pong game) on a sheet of plywood, and held down a ladies' porch jam of singing and tunes for most of the afternoon. Just before dinner time, I gathered a few friends, and we got into the kitchen to make our contribution to the potluck-- Homesick Texan's tomato, bacon & jalapeno pie. I'd brought all the necessary ingredients, but  we swapped out my grocery store tomatoes and bacon for heirloom and homemade varieties that Sebastiaan shared from his farm. While I prepared the crust, he and Ariel and Sarah worked on the filling, and we sang and told stories in the kitchen that was abuzz with other cooks, musicians, and cute babies. We assembled the pie in one of the many hanging skillets from Greg and Cindy's collection, then put it in the oven while we sampled the other dinner dishes and snuck oven peeks.

I'm not sure this pie ever really made it out of the kitchen entirely. The spicy-BLT like dish was so enticing, that we had to keep it on the down-low, sneaking our friends slices so they could all have a taste. Brent liked it so much, he said he wanted it to be his birthday cake for next year. It's good thing we laid down a strong pie base, for all the pickle back shots and square dancing and two-stepping that we'd get into later that night. Homesick Texan nails it yet again.

Tomato, Bacon & Jalapeño Pie
Adapted only slightly from Homesick Texan

Ingredients
For the filling:
1 1/2 lbs. heirloom tomatoes (a meaty variety is best), sliced
1 tsp. sea salt
3 c. (12 oz.) pepper jack cheese, shredded
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and sliced in rounds or diced
8 oz. bacon, cooked and diced

For the crust:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. cornmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
8 Tblsp. unsalted butter, chilled
3/4 c. buttermilk

Directions
1. Place sliced tomatoes in a colander and place the colander in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and toss, then let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes so the juices drain.

2. Meanwhile, make the crust. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and pepper. using a pastry cutter or fork and knife, cut the chilled butter into the flour mixture until it is the consistency of cornmeal and peas. Stir in the buttermilk and mix well. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into an 11-inch circle.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet (you can use a normal pie pan if you don't have a skillet). Transfer the dough to the skillet and fit the crust, making sure it reaches the top of the pan all the way around.

4. Fill the pie by sprinkling and spreading half of the cheese along the crust. Layer in the tomato slices, garlic, jalapeño, and bacon, topping with the remaining cheese.

5. Place the skillet on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes until the crust and cheese are golden brown and filling is bubbling.

It is funny to think about this heavenly time and place when we here in DC and pretty much everywhere else along the East coast is getting slammed by Hurricane Sandy. I will say though, that while this pie was the perfect thing for an old-time party on the perfect fall day, it would also be just as good, maybe even better, as a storm party comfort food. Stay safe and dry and stocked in pie out there, folks.

Savory Heirloom Tomato-Ricotta Galette

Homegrown tomatoes, homegrown tomatoes, what'd life be without homegrown tomatoes? Only two things that money can't buy--that's true love and homegrown tomatoes. Purty true. Though I unfortunately didn't grow any of my own this summer, I'm lucky to have friends who did and are willing to share. Just this past weekend at Rockbridge old-time festival, everyone seemed to have brought the last of their summer tomato bounty to share with other friends and fiddlers. Late Friday night I wandered over to the Jubal's Kin camp and was promptly handed a "hobo bruchetta"-- homegrown tomatoes and fresh mozarella wrapped in a tortilla, which essentially served as a mere vehicle for the goods inside. Then on Saturday morning, as the skillet was heating up for breakfast, my friend (and a fantastic chef) Sebastiaan sliced up some meaty red 'maters he'd grown, sprinkled them with salt, pepper, and basil, drizzled them with oil and put them out on the picnic table. They were gone in seconds. Throughout the weekend we had them in eggs and stews, sammiches and scrambles. A last hurrah of summer, for as Guy says, "winter without 'em's a culinary bummer."

I've made this heirloom tomato-ricotta galette a few times this tomato season. The first was for a delicious dinner with Brent, which also included bacon-wrapped scallops with spicy mayo, a beet and greens salad, and a bottle of wine. This time, I made it for an even more delicious communal dinner, at a magical candlelit undisclosed location with undisclosed people for undisclosed reasons. I promise to tell you more soon.

But for now, what you need to know is that, though any tomato will do, this galette is the best when made with those beautifully colored heirloom tomatoes (again with the tri-colored galette!), whether homegrown by you or someone else. I used Green Zebra, Early Girl, and Yellow Valencia tomatoes from my local co-op. The tart capitalizes on the winning combination of the classic Harriet the Spy-approved tomato sandwich, but upgrades the cheese and gives it a pastry crust, which pretty much hits it out of summer's ballpark.



Savory Heirloom Tomato-Ricotta Galette
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients
Nothing-in-the-House Pie Crust, halved and leaving out the sugar
1 c. whole-milk ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan
2 large eggs
2 Tblsp. chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 c. sliced heirloom tomatoes, variegated colors preferable!
2 Tblsp. olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions
1. Prepare half of the Nothing-in-the-House pie crust as per the directions but leaving out the sugar. Chill dough at least 1 hour before rolling out into a 10-11 inch circle on a sheet of parchment paper. Put the rolled crust and parchment on a cookie sheet and return it to the fridge while you prepare the filling.

2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cheeses, eggs, and chopped basil. Remove crust from the fridge and brush with olive oil.

3. Evenly spread the filling over the crust, leaving a 1-inch edge. Place the sliced tomatoes on top of the filling and fold the crust over the tomatoes. Brush the edge crust with olive oil and sprinkle the entire galette with salt and pepper.

4. Bake 35-45 minutes or until tomatoes are just dry. Let cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

One detail of the communal dinner I can share, is that immediately after dinner was served, before I had even sat down from the buffet table, someone called out to the crowd, "WHO MADE THIS PIZZA?!" Repeating themselves a few times after no one answered. "It's not a pizza," I mumbled under my breath, after realizing that they were talking about the galette. He kept repeating it, so I mustered up the courage to repeat myself louder... "It's not a pizza!" I exclaimed, in half-jest, knowing full well the thing is essentially 'za's kin. "Well whatever it is," he said,  "it's delicious!"

National Pie Day

April's pie day table

On January 23rd a.k.a. National Pie Day (not to be confused with "Pi Day" coming up on 3.14), April (of Farmer's Daughter) sent out an e-mail to a few pals, saying she was cleaning the pie dough out of her freezer and invited us over for a few sweet and savory pies. In a matter of hours she had whipped up a varied spread of 7 different pies: pork belly sauerkraut & potato, retro tomato both with and sans bacon, apple crumb, bourbon pecan, chocolate cream and coconut cream. chocolate cream pie

I can't speak for the meat pies, but the retro tomato was the perfect combination of creamy cheese and crumb, and was so salt-addictive (not saying it was too salty, but addictive like the best homemade salt and vinegar potato chips--COULD NOT STOP EATING!)

bourbon pecan pie

April's crust is seriously the best I've EVER tasted-- so flaky, golden, and perfectly carmelized with the filling. This was especially evident with the bourbon pecan.

I go back for retro-tomato seconds

I wish I had some pics of the PEZ because it was out of control-- fainting into the couch cushions style and ruining my appetite for the birthday party I had to go to afterward. Thanks to April for her mad baking skills, hospitality and ensuring that the first pie day of the year did not go un-celebrated. Now stay tuned for 3.14.10...