Tomato & Cheddar Pie

I have two new favourite books. Home cooking and More Home Cooking, both by Laurie Colwin. Maybe you have seen these books before? I hadn't. While I was visiting Elaine in November, she happened to pull out her copies of these books and I was instantly intrigued. These books are wonderful. They are what I wish this blog (and others) were more like. With chapter titles like, "Alone in the kitchen with an eggplant" and "Jet-Lag and how to feed it", there was no way that I wouldn't love these books. Alas, Laurie Colwin is no longer with us, but her books are definitely living on.

In More Home Cooking there is a chapter on tomatoes. She writes about a tea room in Connecticut that served a tomato pie. She describes how the pie is made and then she has a wonderful sentence that got me out of my favourite chair and into the kitchen.

"It is hard to describe how delicious this is, especially on a hot day with a glass of magnificent iced tea in a beautiful setting, but it would doubtless be just as scrumptious on a cold day in your warm kitchen with a cup of coffee." - Laurie Colwin

It's cold here. I want my kitchen to be warm like that. I want to eat tomato pie with a cup of coffee. So, that is what I did.

Tomato & Cheddar Pie

At the tea room that Laurie describes, they make the crust with a biscuit dough. I happened to have two discs of pie dough that were collecting dust, so I used those instead.

2-28 oz. cans best quality tomatoes (I used my own), drained well and cut thin
1/2 c. green onions, sliced
1 1/2 c. extra-old cheddar cheese, grated
1/3 c. mayonnaise
2 T. fresh lemon juice
Double-crust pie shell

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll out the bottom pie crust and fit into a pie plate.
2. Make sure your tomatoes are well drained, otherwise your bottom crust will be soggy. Place the cut tomatoes in the pie shell. Scatter the green onions over the top. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese over the tomatoes and onions.
3. Mix the mayo and the fresh lemon juice together. Drizzle over the cheese. Sprinkle last 1/2 cup of cheese on top of everything.
4. Roll out the top crust and seal the edges. Cut slits in the top for the steam to escape. Brush the top with an egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little milk or water). Place into hot oven and turn the temperature down to 350 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the crust is nice and golden. Let cool and enjoy with your cup of coffee.

*I ate this for a few meals. I heated up a slice of pie in the oven for about 15 minutes, just until everything was warm and the cheese was soft and melting again.