Heavenly Tomato Pie

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Crust:

Two cups all-purpose flour (I often use part King Arthur white whole wheat flour)

1 teaspoon (freshly ground) pepper

1 teaspoon salt (I use a bit, sometimes a lot less)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2/3 cup milk

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Filling:

2 to 3 pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded and sliced thickly (the more delectable, the better the pie)

¼ cup fresh chopped basil ( I use a bit more)

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

(I use cottage cheese because I cannot eat cheese. Also, I use somewhat less than two cups -- an indeterminate amount that somehow seems to fit the pie.)

2/3 cup mayonnaise (Again, I use less.)

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Crust:

Combine flour, pepper, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Use two knives to cut the butter into the flour mixture.

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Add milk and stir to gently blend well. The dough should be soft and just a little sticky.

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Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough by folding it over a few times.

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Chill for 10 minutes. Divide the dough in half and roll out half of it to fit a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate (or whatever pie pan you have). Heat oven to 400 degrees.

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Filling:

To peel the tomatoes, dip in boiling water for 10 seconds. Core them with a small knife, then slip the peel off.

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Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally. Scoop the seeds out of the seed pockets with your index finger. Don’t be too obsessive about getting every seed – one scoop per seed pocket will generally do the trick.

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Slice the tomatoes thickly and place a layer in the pie. Sprinkle a little salt and basil, then layer with more tomatoes, repeating the process. Repeat the process until all the tomatoes are used.

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Top with grated (or cottage) cheese, then spread the mayonnaise over the top (this is not a particularly tidy process). Use just enough tomatoes to fill the pie generously – you may need more or less depending on how deep and wide your pie pan is.

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Roll out the remaining dough and cover the pie, crimping the edges to seal them. Cut several slits in the top of the pie and brush milk or cream (you can sprinkle the top with a little coarse salt or Parmesan cheese if desired).

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Bake 25 minutes. Let rest 5 or 10 minutes before slicing.

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Serves 6 to 8 people. Serve with green salad.

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If your tomatoes are runny: When you cut into the pie, just lift the slice out to (??) then tip the pie dish into the sink to pour off the juices. If you find your tomatoes give off lots of juice, consider sprinkling a layer of tomatoes with a tablespoon of flour.

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Additional Sarah Fritschner notes:

The pie tastes of fresh tomatoes, basil and cheese. It isn’t a custard pie. We’ve resisted adding flour to thicken the juices of the tomato, preferring to just pour them out of the pan if they accumulate. We prefer the fully fresh tomato flavor to the flour-thickened juices.

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Other Sarah suggestions:

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• Substitute other herbs for the basil. Fresh oregano, thyme and rosemary are a good combination.

• Change the cheese to a sharp or aged Swiss or Italian cheese.

• Add hot peppers to the layers.

• Use your favorite pie pastry instead of the biscuit pastry.

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Ruth notes:

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The pie we ate had fresh rosemary added to the biscuit dough. The tomatoes were cut up and held aside until the pie was made up just before baking so that the crust would not be goopy. Holding the tomatoes aside also allowed them to drain somewhat. The crusts were rolled out and placed in the pie pan and held aside ready to put together just before baking.

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