August and September are all about the tomatoes. Those plants you watched grow and grow and grow all summer, and now their branches are dipping so low, heavy with ripe fruit ready for the picking. They are so versatile -- eaten fresh, cooked, preserved for the colder months. This tomato pie is my take on a southern classic. Lunch. Dinner. Snack time. Whenever you want it, this will treat your taste buds good. 

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Using the roasted garlic pie dough is just another way of upping the flavour profile; but if you have regular pie dough lying around, or would prefer to cut the prep and use a store-bought pie shell, that'll do the trick too. 

Y: 1 x 8" pie

Pie Filling Ingredients:
1000g tomatoes
1t salt
1 red onion, medium sized
2T olive oil
1/4t black pepper
1/3c basil leaves, roughly chopped or torn
1/2c mayo
1c shredded cheese (I did a combination of parmesan and cheddar)

Roasted Garlic Pie Dough Ingredients:
200g AP flour
140g butter, cold, cubed
50g water, cold
1 head garlic
3g salt

Mise en Place
Cut the tomatoes into 1cm thick pieces. Put them on a baking tray lined with parchment and roast in a 400F oven for about 40 minutes, turning over at the half way point. You want the tomatoes to have some colour and have baked out some of their moisture by the time they're done. This also helps to concentrate their flavour. Let cool to room temperature. The garlic for the pie dough can be done at the same time as the tomatoes. Wrap the head of garlic in a piece of tin foil and pop into the oven. It should take about the same amount of time as it takes to roast the tomatoes. It will be very soft and caramel coloured when it is done. 

While the tomatoes are roasting, you can prepare the onion. Cut the onion in half. With one half, chop it into a medium dice and set it aside. With the other half, cut it into thin strips in the direction so that all of the layers hold together. Set the strips aside. In a pan, heat the olive oil. Add the diced onion and cook over a medium heat until soft and translucent, 5 minutes

In a bowl, combine the mayo, salt, pepper, basil, cheese, and sauteed onion. 

Pie Dough
Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Add in the cold butter. Using your fingers, work the butter in until it is in pea sized pieces. Add in the roasted garlic, and rub it into the flour between your hands to evenly distribute. Make a well in the middle and add in the cold water. Toss everything together with your finger tips to form clumps, and eventually bring the dough together into a rough ball. Don't be tempted to over work and really knead the dough. Being gentle will prevent it from shrinking so much when baking, and becoming tough. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes, or up to 5 days. 

Assembly
On a lightly floured counter, roll the pie dough out until it is 2 inches larger than your pie plate. Transfer the dough to your pie plate, finishing the edges how you like, whether it's crimping, or just trimming off the excess with a knife. Prick the base of the dough all over with a fork. Chill in the fridge until firm - about 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375F. Once the dough is chilled, line it with parchment or tin foil and fill that with dried beans, or rice. Bake for 20 minutes, until the edges start to go slightly golden. Take the layer of rice or beans off and bake another 5 minutes until the middle has darkened slightly and the dough is cooked. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature before going on to assemble the pie. 

Put half of the mayo mixture into the bottom of the pie plate and smooth it into an even layer. Lay down half of the tomatoes over the mayo mixture to create an even second layer. Repeat with another layer with the other half of the mayo, and then finish the top with the remaining tomatoes. Bake at 375F for 40 minutes. Let sit 10-15 minutes before cutting into. Enjoy your summer treat!

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