Week 36: The Ugly Tomato Tart

“The federal government has sponsored research that has produced a tomato that is perfect in every respect, except that you can’t eat it. We should make every effort to make sure this disease, often referred to as ‘progress’, doesn’t spread.”
~ Andy Rooney

What kind of tomatoes did you eat as a child?
The tomatoes of my youth had a tough, rubbery texture with no sweetness whatsoever. They were four perfectly round, pinkish-red spheres that sat sterile on a Styrofoam tray, hermetically sealed in plastic wrap. Thoughts about how they grew or how far they traveled to get to my New England based grocery store never crossed my mind. That is, until the summer that I visited my dad and stepmother who had moved to California and cultivated a beautiful vegetable garden, which provided bushels of fresh homegrown tomatoes.

The first time I tasted their fresh vibrant red tomato, it’s juicy sweet flavor burst into my mouth and I then realized that I was sorely tomato deprived. After that delicious experience, I stopped eating tomatoes on the East Coast and only enjoyed them when I was visiting California during the summer months. As I’ve said before, a lot of my mother’s recipes were lacking the health benefits of fresh veggies, but luckily vegetables grow abundantly in the summer, so I could truly enjoy fresh grown tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, carrots, melons, and more when visiting the West Coast. 

To this day, I no longer eat tomatoes when they’re not in season, because nothing compares to a fresh, in-season summer tomato.

For the most part (due to awareness, farmers markets, etc…), we all have access to fresh, healthy vibrant produce regardless of what coast we call home. While the prices might go up and down with the season—and we should all be mindful of the carbon footprint—it’s possible for us to eat a fresh, healthy rainbow every day!

I chose Mom’s tomato pie recipe because this is the perfect time for fresh tomatoes, and this week’s recipe features some beautiful heirloom tomatoes from Migliorelli’s, a local farm stand. In the photo, you’ll notice that the heirlooms are not genetically modified, perfect little rubbery spheres and that’s just fine by me, because I prefer to consume ugly produce!

Original Recipe

The Process:
Besides the obvious recipe revamp by using a beautiful, fresh tomato variety, there were some other easy ingredient switches to make this recipe a little healthier — coconut oil replaced margarine, yogurt replaced sour cream, and whole wheat flour replaced the white flour in the crust. Keep in mind, this recipe has mayonnaise and cheese in it, so it’s inherently not one of the lighter recipes on the list. With more time, I would’ve made my own mayonnaise, but instead I purchased a jar of organic mayo.

 

The Results:
My friend Blair was the taste- tester this week and she loved this tomato pie. She admitted that when I first told her I was making “tomato pie” it didn’t sound appealing and that she pictured a pureed custard pie (such as pumpkin or sweet potato) only with tomatoes. Um, gross!

She was pleasantly surprised when a portion of warm, cheesy tomato goodness surrounded by a hearty crust was served for dinner. She definitely noticed that the high-quality tomatoes made all the difference. She liked the bitter bite of the broccoli rabe and, even though I wasn’t happy with the crust as it felt a little bit too hearty for me, she liked the texture contrast of the crust to the creamy, melted cheese and felt it was more of a tart than a pie.

 

Tomato Cheese Tart

Crust Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup coconut oil or butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground dry basil or 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Step One Directions:
Sift all dry ingredients together.
Stir in yogurt and basil.
Cut in coconut oil or butter.
Roll or pat out mixture to fit a 9-inch pie pan. *Note, I’m a terrible pie crust maker so mine didn’t roll easily, therefore I ended up pressing mine into the pan.
Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 10 minutes.

Filling Ingredients:
2 large (or 3 medium) fresh tomatoes — enough to fill the bottom of the piecrust.
2 cups chopped broccoli rabe
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 garlic clove
Olive oil for sautéing

Step Two Directions:

While the pie crust is baking, sauté broccoli rabe, onion, and garlic together until it is limp.
 After removing the pie crust from the oven, begin layering the broccoli rabe on the bottom of the pie crust, and then top with tomato wedges.
 Mix mayonnaise and cheese together, and spread over the top of the tomato wedges. Bake at 375° for 30 to 35 minutes.

 

Saturday 36 Recipe Pick

One of these days I may share why it feels like my life is chaotic recently, but for now, know I’m doing my best to keep the 52 Saturday commitment.  I’ll pick which one of these recipes when I know how much time I have this week. It will likely be an apple dessert …unless I’m desperate for the comfort chocolate can provide.

 

 

Tags: organic, tomato