Tomato Corn Pie with Biscuit Crust
There’s this girl I know (if you count obsessively reading their blog as knowing someone) who besides being a brilliant writer and photographer, has great taste in food. And besides that, she’s at a constant trot one step ahead of me in the kitchen.
I have a running list of things I want to try, and while it’s a fluid list, with items constantly being added and falling off as I forget about them/lost interest, some have been gathering dust on that list for eons. Blueberry Boy Bait, for example, has been knocking on the door since I flipped past it in one of Nigella’s books (along with Bang Bang Turkey, which I’ve managed to scratch off my list), and she beat me to it. And I know there were others, but I forget them, and now Laurie Colwin’s Tomato-Corn Pie, which I’ve read about approximately a hundred times (Laurie’s Home Cooking and More Home Cooking take up permanent residence beside my bed – they are the epitome of comfort) and have truly meant to make every single summer since I first read MHC, but never have. Laurie describes – as part of a story about a woman named Mary O’Brien who owned a tea shop called Chaiwalla in Salisbury, Connecticut – a pie built in a biscuit crust, thickly layered with tomatoes, corn scraped from the cob, basil, chives and grated cheddar, then topped with lemon juice-spiked mayo, topped with another biscuit crust (which is rolled thin, so it’s not too doughy) and baked. Every time I see a glut of ripe tomatoes, I think to myself: I really ought to make that tomato pie. But then I don’t. Because really, if you’re going to bother making a late-summer pie from scratch, oughtn’t it be peach, cherry, or plum?
D prompted me to finally scratch this off my list, and jettison that teeny sliver of space that particular intention has been occupying for the past decade or so. I wonder what I should put there.
Now, I made this last night at about 9:30, to bring to the studio when I went at 5 this morning (besides taking over traffic duties this week, I also had my food column today, and addressed the issue of homemade pie), and noticed that summer has abruptly ended – that is, it was completely dark at 9 o’clock. So I didn’t bother with photos. But this morning, when the hounds had been released to reduce the peach pie to an empty, sticky plate before drifting off again for morning coffee, leaving half the tomato-corn pie (some people have aversions to tomatoes, and others to even the idea of mayonnaise), I stole the remaining quarter of it back and brought it home to eat for lunch and dinner.
One word stuck in my head as I was eating this pie: glee. With every bite I envisioned myself jumping up and down and clapping with it.
The corn remains crisp, the cheese doesn’t overwhelm. You could take or leave the basil. I have Deb to thank for her advice to go ahead and peel the tomatoes, and even juice them, lest the bottom crust become unbearably soggy; I went one further and replaced the beefsteak tomatoes with Romas, which are meatier and have less juice to begin with. To those of you who like me, may scoff at the suggestion to peel tomatoes, let me say this: some things are worth the effort.
Tomato-Corn Pie with Biscuit Crust
adapted from Laurie Colwin, by way of SmittenKitchen (although this is mighty close to Laurie’s – or Mary’s – original)
Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup milkFilling:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 lbs. Roma tomatoes
2 cups corn (from about 3 ears), cut from the cob
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp. chopped chives
salt & pepper
1 1/2 cups grated old cheddarIn a bowl or the bowl of a food processor, blend the flour, baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt. Add the butter and blend with a fork or pastry cutter (or pulse in the food processor) until blended, with pieces no bigger than a pea. If you’re using a food processor, transfer the mixture to a bowl. Add the milk and stir by hand just until you have a soft dough.
Divide the dough in half (with one half just slightly larger than the other) and roll the larger piece on a floured countertop (or between two pieces of waxed or parchment paper) into a 12″ round; transfer to a pie plate and gently fit it inside without stretching. Trim any overhang.
Preheat oven to 400°F with the rack in the middle. Whisk together the mayonnaise and lemon juice.
Cut an X in bottom of each tomato and blanch in a large pot of boiling water for 30 seconds; immediately transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water to cool. Peel tomatoes, then slice crosswise 1/4-1/2″ thick and gently remove the seeds and extra juices (you don’t have to be too diligent about this part). Arrange half of tomatoes in the crust, overlapping, and sprinkle with half of corn, half the basil and chives chives, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and one cup of grated cheese. Repeat layering with remaining tomatoes, corn, basil, chives, salt, and pepper. Pour lemon mayonnaise over filling and sprinkle with remaining cheese.Roll out remaining piece of dough into a 12″ round and fit it over the filling, folding overhang under edge of bottom crust and pinching/crimping the edge to seal. Cut 4 steam vents in top crust and if you like, brush crust with a bit of oil or melted butter.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, unti lthe pie is golden and bubbly. Serve warm, or cool to room temperature.
Do ahead: Pie can be baked 1 day ahead and chilled. Reheat in a 350°F oven until warm, about 30 minutes.
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jenn in niagara on 03 Sep 2009 at 5:01 am #
Oh my, oh my that pie looks so frickin good! i am definitely going to be making this one!
thanks julie!
Barb on 03 Sep 2009 at 5:50 am #
That pie has to be the exception to the peach, cherry, plum rule. It looks amazing! It’s definitely in my pile of must try soons!
Cheryl Arkison on 03 Sep 2009 at 5:56 am #
Yum! When you mentioned it on the radio I immediately started drooling, only to be quietly satiated by cherry strawberry pie last night. I’m picking up some corn tomorrow!
Kalyn on 03 Sep 2009 at 6:27 am #
That does look delicious! I was skeptical when I first heard the idea of corn and tomatoes in a pie but your photo is quite drool-inducing!
Carol SB on 03 Sep 2009 at 6:30 am #
It looks delicious… but no thickener in the filling? and tomatoes are so juicy… but you even made this the night before, and the crust doesn’t look at all squishy. I guess, as you said, you mitigated the “runny” problem by using Romas. (And how do you “gently remove the seeds and extra juice”? Colander?)
Julie, do you think this will work in the winter, with frozen tomatoes? (I love to freeze them, as it’s just a matter of tossing them in the freezer; then, in December, I can run hot water over them and their skins slip right off.) Or would the tomato flesh be too soft? I usually use thawed tomatoes in soups, chili, etc.
mmac on 05 Sep 2009 at 6:57 pm #
Just made this to take to a friend whose husband has been in the hospital for almost four months (“Nothing compares to the feeling that you are worth the effort.” Julie VR). Although my “crimping the edges” skills are no hell it still looks amazing and I’m sure it’ll taste even better. Thanks for this.
Nancy on 07 Sep 2009 at 6:37 am #
This was fantastic, my girlfriend made it on Sat. night and wowowowow it was good! Ignored the meat to have two huge wedges. I’d love to try it in a handpie like a cornish pasty…perfect for the season, thanks for a great one!
Lana on 08 Sep 2009 at 11:47 am #
HI Julie,
I made this for my parents over the weekend, using corn and tomatoes from my own garden. It was DELICIOUS and totally worth the effort of blanching the tomatoes.
Even my husband commented, which is something!
margo on 23 Sep 2009 at 8:43 pm #
My family was not that inspired when I told them what was for supper, but I was positive we were all in for a wonderful surprise. Homegrown tomatoes, fresh corn, and it was, as you said “glee” to my tastebuds. Even my 15 year old son was pretty impressed. I’m wondering if a bit of fresh dill would fit with the flavors, although I’m torn because it was so delicious with no tweaking. The perfect early fall treat. It’s a keeper!!
Corn and Tomato Pie « Anotheryarn Eats on 01 Oct 2009 at 11:50 pm #
[...] a pretty slice. Prettier pictures can be found on Smitten Kitchen’s site (of course) and Dinner with Julie and probably the issue of Gourmet it was published in and other blogs). Oh yes, it was served [...]
deb on 12 Oct 2009 at 9:25 am #
Aw, glad you loved it. Seriously, ours disappeared too fast, and seeing your picture makes me want more n-o-w.