Tomato Pie

Summer means tomatoes, and for us this means tomato pie.  Goes great with a rosemary-olive bread we're getting from our CSA bread share this year.

Tomato Pie
* enough tomatoes to end up as about 4 cups chopped.  This probably means about six medium sized tomatoes, or two of the extra large heirloom pictured here.
* 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
* 1/2 cup mayonaise
* 10-14 fresh basil leaves
* pie crust
* 1 onion
* 2 tbsp butter
* 2 cloves garlic


The timing on this recipe took me a while to figure out.  Here's what I do, but you might like to do things in a different order.


1. Take the pie crust out of the refrigerator to warm up.  Pre-heat the over to 400F.


2. Slice the onion, and start to caramelize in a large pan on medium low heat with the butter.  Stir the onions every five minutes so they cook evenly. 


3. While the oven is warming up, wash the tomatoes, and slice them about 1/2 inch thick.  Take the slices and push out the seeds and squeeze out the liquid in to a bowl.


4. Place the tomato slices into a colander over a bowl to catch the liquid.  The reason to catch the liquid is so you can have a nice tomato cocktail later.


5. Salt the tomato slices, and every five minutes or so, press down on them with your hands to expel the liquid into the bowl.  You want to get the liquid out so that you don't end up with a pie plate full of tomato juice after it bakes.


6. Unroll the pie crust onto a pie plate, and prick it with a fork so that it doesn't rise out of the plate.  Bake 12-18 minutes until it is well browned.  You might be tempted to just par-bake it, but trust me, you want it to be well cooked before you put the tomatoes in, because they have a lot of liquid in them.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool 5-7 minutes.


7. Crush the garlic, or chop finely and add to the onions.  Cook over medium heat for another 1-2 minutes but do not burn the garlic.  Remove onions and garlic from heat and allow to cool.


8. Mix the grated cheese with the mayonaise.  Roughly chop the basil and combine the tomatoes, basil and onions together, then scoop the tomato mixture into the pie crust.  Top the pie crust with the cheese and mayo evenly.  


10. Depending on how browned the edges of the pie crust are, you might want to cover the edges with foil, and bake the pie in the 400F oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese has melted and begins to brown.  Remove from oven, allow to cool about 5 minutes then slice and enjoy.

Garlic Scape Anti Vampire Pesto Pasta

Shortly after ramp season ends at the farmer's markets you'll see the garlic scapes arrive.  Fear not, these are most delicious in a raw pesto recipe with pasta.   Today's recipe was done with linguini, but you could use whatever pasta noodle you prefer.

Coarsely chop the garlic scapes before you add them to the food processor.

Throw it all in the processor.

Blend until smooth.

Garlic Scape Pesto Pasta Recipe

• 1/2 lb Linguini Pasta
• 1 bunch garlic scapes (10-20)
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup olive oil

Cook the noodles in boiling water until al dente.  While the noodles are cooking, toast the almonds in a small pan over medium heat until just starting to brown.  Add to the food processor.  Coarsely chop the garlic scapes and add to the processor.  Grate 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, or a little less if you prefer, and add to the processor.  Salt and pepper is optional and rarely adds anything to the garlic scapes, but if you feel something's missing, throw it in.

Pulse a few times, then turn on and add the oil until you get the consistency you like.  Add a few spoonfulls to the pasta, toss, and enjoy.

Ramp Pesto Super Awesoma Power

As a college radio DJ, one of the first things you are taught after the term "Dead Air" (which we have plenty of here on the Dudley Dish) is not to start a segue with "And we're back..."

This year's season started off with a sweltering BOOM they call ramps.  Usually I completely miss the two week ramp window at the farmer's markets, but somehow it didn't slip by unnoticed this year.

Because it's impossible for me to follow a recipe, here's how we do it on Dudley:

Ramp Pesto Recipe

• .5 lb Fettucine Pasta
• 1 bunch ramps, root trimmed and washed then chopped
• 4 oz Ricotta Salada cheese
• .5 cup pine nuts
• dash of salt 
• dash of pepper
• 1/3 cup oil

Start cooking your noodles in boiling water until al dente.  While they cook, heat a small pan over medium heat, and add the pine nuts.  Toast the nuts until they start to brown, then transfer to a food processor.  Coarsely chope the ramps and ricotta, then add to the food processor.  Add the salt and pepper to taste.  Pulse a few times, then turn on and add the oil until you reach your desired consistency for the pesto.  Sometimes a little more olive oil is better to coat the noodles.