Tomato Pie a la Vivian Howard
Makes roughly one 12-inch pie or tart.
Ingredients:
For the filling:
- 2 cups diced and drained fresh tomatoes (see below)
- 2 cups diced and roasted tomatoes (see below)
- 1 cup caramelized onions (see below)
- 1/2 cup picked basil
- salt
- pepper
- pie crust (blind bake before filling)
For the Topping:
- 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 1/3 cup grated Fontina
- 1/2 cup mayo
For the onions
Peel and slice 4 medium yellow onions. In a large sauté pan, heat 1/4 cup butter. Add the onions and season them with salt. Let the onions simmer and become juicy. Once the situation becomes a bit drier and much of the onion liquid has cooked out, turn down the heat, to its lowest setting and settle in for a long, slow caramelize. To get these onions where they need to be, it could take about 2 hours. You are looking for a medium brown, sweet caramelization.
For the diced and drained tomatoes
Seed and dice about 3 cups fresh, high-quality tomatoes. Toss them with a little kosher salt and sugar. Set over a colander while you prepare the remaining ingredients if possible. If not, drain for a minimum of an hour. You should be left with about 2 cups of tomato.
For the roasted tomatoes
Seed and dice 4 cups fresh, high quality tomatoes. Toss them with olive oil (Chef & the Farmer uses garlic oil), plenty of kosher salt, and several sprigs of thyme. Spread this mix out on a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. You want the tomatoes to be dry and slightly caramelized, but not burned around the edges.
To Assemble the Filling
Combine the onions, fresh tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Keep in mind, tomatoes take a lot of seasoning to really make them shine in applications like this.
To Bake and Serve
Spread the filling over the bottom of a blind-baked crust. Flatten the topping between wax paper or use your good ol’ hands to create a 1/3 inch thick round of delicious, cheesy topping that spreads nearly to the edges of the pie. Bake at 375 degrees until the top is nicely browned, about 20-25 minutes. Serve at just over room temperature.