Tomato Corn Pie

I like reading Smitten Kitchen. She has fantastic photos, witty writing, and I often learn new things from her blog.

I've tried very few of her tempting recipes and, in fact, Allison reminded me that we haven't really cared for the few I have attempted. Hope springs eternal, I suppose, because she posted a Tomato and Corn Pie a couple weeks ago and I decided I had to try it. (Or, more accurately, use her recipe as a jumping off point.)

I made a single instead of a double crust pie, I cut the salt, cheese, and butter, and used whole wheat pastry flour, light mayo, and skim milk but, other than that, this is just like hers.

I recommend it highly.



Tomato and Corn Pie


1 cup whole wheat flour (pastry flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 ounces milk, skim
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 3/4 pounds tomatoes, whole
1 1/2 cups corn kernels, divided
2 tablespoons basil, fresh, finely chopped, divided
1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, 1 cup, divided


Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt in a bowl, then blend in cold butter with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal. Add milk, stirring until mixture just forms a dough, then gather into a ball.

Roll out into a 12-inch round (1/8 inch thick), and place in a 9-inch pie plate (or press it into the pie plate with your fingers instead of rolling it out). Trim any overhang.

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Whisk together mayonnaise and lemon juice.

Cut an X in bottom of each tomato and blanch in a large pot of boiling water 10 seconds. Immediately transfer with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to cool. Peel tomatoes, then slice crosswise 1/4 inch thick and, if desired, gently remove seeds and extra juices (I spun them in my salad spinner. It helped but didn't completely eliminate the excess liquid.). Arrange half of tomatoes in crust, overlapping, and sprinkle with half of corn, one tablespoon basil, 1/2 tablespoon chives, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and one-half 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.
Bake pie until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes.