By Libbie Summers from Sweet and Vicious –baking with attitude, Rizzoli
Photography by Chia Chong
Like babies and Southern belles…not all pies are made to be entirely sweet.
Green Tomato Pie
(tart + flaky with just a little sweet heat)
serves 8
What you need:
3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cayenne
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 prepared pie dough for a double crust pie (recipe to follow)
2 pounds green tomatoes, cored and thinly sliced (1⁄8 – to 1⁄16 -inch thick)
1⁄4 cup apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
What to do:
In a small mixing bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, and flour. Set aside.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the larger disc of dough to a 12-inch round, about 1⁄8 inch thick. Gently drape the dough into a 9-inch pie pan. (Draping is the key: You don’t want to push the pie dough into the pan; just let it fall naturally). Trim the dough to create a 1⁄2-inch overhang from the edge of the pie pan. (Kitchen shears are the best tool for this.)
Arrange a layer of the tomatoes in the bottom of the pie shell. Sprinkle the tomatoes with some of the flour mixture. Repeat the layers until all of the tomatoes and flour mixture have been used. Sprinkle the vinegar over the top and dot with the butter.
Roll out the remaining dough to an 11-inch round, about 1⁄8 inch thick. Make decorative cut-outs with cookie cutters so steam can escape from the pie as it bakes. Center and drape the dough over the pie. Tuck the edges of the top crust under the bottom crust and crimp together in a decorative way (Get some great ideas for fun pie crimping HERE).
At this point, you can use any dough scraps to decorate the top of your pie. You are only limited by the scraps you have. Use some of the egg mixture as glue to adhere the dough scraps to the top crust. Make sure you have at least one hole in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape. Refrigerate the pie for 30 minutes.
Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
Place the chilled pie on the baking sheet, brush the top of the pie with the egg mixture, and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375° F and continue baking for 40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. If the crust starts getting too brown before the pie is fully baked, cover loosely with foil. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before serving.
Libbie’s Pie Dough
yields 1 double crust pie dough
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1/4 cup rendered leaf lard, cold (can substitute vegetable shortening)
- 1/4-1/2 cup ice water
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar. Using two forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter and lard making sure to leave some chunks of butter (the size of peas) visible.
Stir the water into the flour mixture until a ball is formed. Work quickly and be mindful not to over mix. Form mixture into two equal disks. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours. Dough will be a little crumbly. Refrigerate dough for 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
2 comments
My father whose 89 spoke of a sweet tomato pie his grandmother made. As in dessert. So I’ll try this recipe with green tomatoes and then I might try with the reds.
My daughter said if you like fried green tomatoes, you will die for the fried red tomatoes. I made them and she’s right. Thank you!
Sherry, I’ve never tried a fried red tomato! How did it hold up? I always just assumed it would fall apart.