Today's Lunch

Having been blessed with a bevy of summer vine-ripened tomatoes from our recent farm share delivery, I decided to make a pie for lunch.  This is how it looked just before it got popped into the oven ... it won't be ready for another 45 minutes or so, so maybe I'll post an extra of the finished product if I remember later on!

Here's the recipe in case you're interested:

Warm Tomato Pie

For the Crust:

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 to 3 tablespoons ice water

For the Filling:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1 cup half-and-half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the Topping:

3 very large beefsteak tomatoes, sliced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried Italian herb blend (I used Herbes de Provence, because that's what I had!)

Prepare the crust:  Place the flour, sugar, butter, and Parmesan in a food processor and process just until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  With the machine running, add the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the ice water through the feed tube; process just until the mixture starts to gather into a ball.  (You may have to add up to 1 tablespoon more of the water.)  Shape the dough into a thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12" circle.  Line a 10" to 11" pie plate with the dough; trim and crimp the edges decoratively.  Refrigerate while working on the rest of the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Prepare the filling:  Heat the butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and saute 5 minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until the onion is very soft, about 10 minutes longer.  Brush the mustard evenly over the bottom of the pie shell, then top with the onion mixture.  Lay the slices of mozzarella on top.

Whisk together the egg yolks, egg, and half-and-half.  Season with salt and pepper and pour over the cheese in the pie shell.

Arrange the sliced tomatoes in circles to cover the top of the pie.  Drizzle with the olive oil, then sprinkle with the garlic and dried herbs.  Bake until cooked through and lightly browned, 45 to 50 minutes.  Let cool 15 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.

Makes 8 servings.

(From Nantucket Open House Cookbook by Sarah Leah Chase)