This recipe for corn and tomato pie is something of a Frankenstein: a combination of three different recipes bolted together. It’s inspired by Smitten Kitchen’s tomato and corn pie recipe, combined with a filling idea from Food & Wine’s recipe for summer succotash gratin, piled into a variation on my family’s no-roll pie crust.
I like that the filling for this vegetable pie holds together a little better than the original version. And I’ve swapped the double pastry crust with a delicious no-roll pie crust with cornmeal and olive oil for fantastic flavor and texture. (With no top crust, this corn-tomato pie recipe is a little less, shall we say, sinful than Smitten Kitchen’s — and no less delish.)
summer corn and tomato pie recipe
(serves 6 ... who are we kidding? Rob and I ate half of this in one sitting)
for the no-roll pie crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. cold milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or canola or grapeseed oil)
1/4 cup olive oil
for the corn-tomato filling
3 ears corn, kernels removed
2 large tomatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 egg
1/2 cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a 9-inch pie plate, whisk together flour, cornmeal and salt. Combine milk and oils, and pour into the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork to combine, then use your fingers to work the mixture together until large clumps form and no loose flour remains. Use your fingers to press the crust into place, beginning with the sides and finishing with the bottom; make sure there are no holes or cracks. Bake the pie shell for 10 minutes; remove from oven and let cool.
Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Scatter 1/3 cup of the grated cheddar in the bottom of the pie shell, lay 1/2 of the tomato slices on top of the cheese, then scatter 1/2 of corn kernels over the tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper and 1/2 of the thyme. Repeat with another layer of cheese and vegetables, ending with cheese on top. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and cream; pour this mixture gently over the vegetables.
Transfer the pie to the preheated oven (lay a sheet of aluminum foil on the rack to catch any drips), and bake until the cheese is melted and the filling is bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes to set the filling before serving.
You mentioned on my blog that we were in cooking synch – we are! I made a tomato corn pie this weekend, with a similar cornmeal crust. Way better than smitten’s original. I like your idea of leaving the hat off, which I will try next time – a better balance of crust to filling, I think.
P.S.: Love the new digs!
Pingback: Summery zucchini, bacon and ricotta pie. | writes4food