TOMATO PIE WITH BROWN BUTTERED GARLIC & SHALLOTS

Recipe by The Leek & The Carrot
Takes 2 hours (a little more if making the crust from scratch)
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 batch favorite store-bough pie crust (or make your own; my favorite tomato pie crust is here)
4-5 pounds tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
6 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1-1/2 cups shredded havarti*
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried)
1 shallot, thinly sliced

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

  2. If making your crust from scratch, get this going first so it has plenty of time to chill in the freezer. If not, hop to step 3.

  3. Core tomatoes and then cut into 1/4-inch slices. Lay tomato slices out on two large baking sheets so that they are mostly in a single layer. This may take four pounds of tomatoes or it may take five depending on how thick your slices are. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in preheated oven for 45 minutes until the tomatoes look dehydrated and most of the liquid has evaporated. Rotate your pans a couple times to ensure even cooking.

  4. While the tomatoes bake, melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium low heat. Add garlic and cook until the butter smells browned. It will foam and then turn clear and then begin to brown, about 5-8 minutes. Stir and check the pan often during this process to ensure it does not burn. Place a fine mesh sieve over a small bowl and strain out garlic while saving the butter.

  5. Transfer garlic to a cutting board and finely chop.

  6. Combine garlic, mayonnaise, cheddar, parmesan, and parsley in a small bowl. Stir until smooth.

  7. By now your tomatoes should be done cooking. Remove them from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees.

  8. Roll out your pie crust and place in a 9 or 10-inch pie pan. Place aluminum foil and pie weights (or rice or dried beans) inside and bake for 15 minutes. If you purchased a pre-made crust you can skip this step.

  9. Remove crust from oven. Place all but the 10 (of the most perfect) roast tomato slices into the pie crust in even layers. Spread mayo mixture over the top and then arrange 10-12 cooked tomatoes over the top followed by thinly sliced shallots. Glaze the whole thing with your prepared garlic butter by slowly drizzling evenly over the top.

  10. Bake for 45- 55 minutes until the crust is golden. Let cool at least 5 minutes before slicing or devouring.

*Any favorite cheese would work here. I love havarti and tomato together, but a mild cheddar, Gruyere or Swiss would all also work great!

Tomatoes, ShallotsBethanee WrightComment