I had (HAD!) to re-publish this recipe for improved tomato-corn pie, one of my absolute all-time summer favorites. I discovered Deb Perelman’s recipe at Smitten Kitchen, which she republished from the August 2009 issue of Gourmet magazine. But the recipe has even earlier origins: Gourmet’s version is a kind of mashup between a tomato pie developed by the late food writer Laurie Colwin for the magazine in 1992 and a tomato-cheese quiche recipe in James Beard’s 1972 “American Cookery.”
My significant hack to the Gourmet tomato-corn pie recipe—and, if I daresay, its improvement—is baking it in a no-roll pie crust flavored with olive oil and crunchy with cornmeal. In my book, a double-crust pastry does this pie a disservice, making it watery and soggy. The savory no-roll pie crust stays light and crisp, even with all those juicy summer tomatoes.
Trust me: You’ll want to make this soon.
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.
Can’t say enough about this recipe, Bryn. And so glad you talked (browbeat?) me into making the crust rather than using a store-bought one. It’s so easy and so good. We took two of these pies to a potluck last weekend and they were a huge hit. And of course we’re enjoying them at home as well while the tomatoes and corn are in peak season. All all-time favorite.
Thanks for the comment, Sam! I’m glad you loved the cornmeal no-roll crust … so delicious!
made this tonight and i loved it. my husband not a big fan of tomatoes so this will be my lunch for a couple of days. really want to make the peach pie, too, but i need to have more people to eat it…might need to have a labor day cookout.
I want to make this tonight, but give it a sort of Mexican twist with Queso Chihuahua instead of the cheddar. I may season it a little differently, too. Looking forward to it!
Ooh, I love the idea of doing a Mexican version of this tomato corn pie recipe! You could do a bit of cumin, some fresh jalapenos, chili powder, cilantro. Thanks for the idea, Amy! Let us know how it turns out!
My pie came out incredibly watery. I noticed other recipes called for draining the liquid out of the tomatoes and also for chopping the corn a little in a food processor – perhaps the pie would not have been so watery if I had done as these other recipes advised. Disappointing