Recipe: Tomato Pie

We’ve been spread pretty thin lately, slowly settling into our new lives here in New Marlborough, so you may have noticed that we’ve been neglecting the blog a little bit. Though our next post is always in the back of our minds it has been a struggle - between a new kitchen and new schedules - to get into a good cooking, picture taking and writing routine. 

But that doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy working on The Butcher and The Baker. On his days off from The Meat Market, Jake has been scouting out new farms to profile (look out for our next Field Trip to Whippoorwill Farm!) and organizing our overflowing kitchen. All the while Silka has been busy in the garden, meeting with lots of people in the local food community and getting us published! It’s been so fun and really exciting... but now here we are, running in circles and getting a little tired of pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

Now don’t get us wrong, a great pasta with some cheese and seasonal veggies is the best. But we have started to search for, if not new veg, (because really, how can you get sick of summer produce) a new carb-based canvas. Inspired by the one thing we’re never too busy to make - PIE! - Silka decided to skip the spaghetti and make a simple and savory tart with our CSA harvest and veggies from Jake’s father’s garden. 

While we, along with most of the country, have been experiencing a terrible crop-testing drought, Jake’s father's garden is somehow bursting with bright veggies. Everywhere you look there are tons of juicy, golden orbs hanging just waiting to be plucked. Warm off the vine, they are bursting with a bright, sweet flavor. After shoveling a few freshly-picked handfuls into our mouths, we dumped as many as we could into a basket and brought them home where Silka had a roughly rolled-out crust waiting. Piled high with the tomatoes, some onion and thyme, we folded over the edges and threw it into the oven. 

Classic Pie Dough
(The recipe below is for one 8” pie crust. In the case of a rustic tart, we like to make 1.5 times this recipe so there is plenty of dough create a sturdy edge.)

1 cup flour
1 pinch salt
1 stick cold butter, cut into pieces
½ bar of cold cream cheese, cut into pieces (4 oz)

1. Combine dry ingredients into a food processor and pulse until mixed.
2. Add butter and cream cheese and pulse until mixture starts to form a ball, usually 8 - 10 pulses.
3. Turn out onto a floured surface and pat into a 2 inch-thick disc. Wrap in saran wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.

Tomato Pie

1.5 pints of cherry tomatoes, large ones cut in half
½ onion, roughly chopped
½ stick of butter (4 tbsp)1 tbsp fresh thyme
½ tsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste
 
Optional: 

3/4 cup grated cheese - Gruyere or goat would work perfectly!

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. On a floured surface, roll out dough to ⅛ in thick and about 12 inches around. Don’t worry about a perfect circle here, rustic shapes work just fine. Place back into the refrigerator.
3. Place onions, with 2 tablespoons of butter, in a large pan on medium heat. Let caramelize, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
4. Add a salt and pepper to taste, sugar and thyme, cooking for another 5 minutes.
5. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into the pan and let melt. Add tomatoes and fold into butter to coat. Let cook for an additional 3 minutes, salt and pepper some more, and remove from heat.
6. After the tomato and onion mixture has cooled (10 minutes or so), remove dough from fridge and place on a baking sheet with edges. Pour filling into the center of the dough and gently fold over edges to hold vegetables in.
7. Bake for 40 minutes or until crust is golden and tomatoes start to burst. Sprinkle cheese on top and broil until melted and bubbling. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving.