Green Tomato Pie

Traditionally, green tomato pie made during the Civil War era was a sweet version – kinda like apple pie. Initially I felt compelled to be accurate. Unfortunately, like a lot of history, to tell it plainly is often ugly and gross. Trust me, the O.G. tomato pie was no different. So instead we decided on this delicious, savory version!

Ingredients:

Crust (adapted from Sister Pie by Lisa Ludwick) 

2.5 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp of granulated sugar

1 tsp of salt

1 cup (2 sticks) European butter

1 cup  water plus 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar cold (make ahead and set in the fridge)

5 green tomatoes

½ pound of bacon

2 sweet onions chopped

Salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder

1 tbsp cornstarch 

1 cup of shredded cheese (we used  ½  cup of Harvey’s Habanero Jack and ½ Sage cheeses)

1 cup of Mayo (unless you’re making mayo in the crib, use Dukes!)

Directions:

I know, I know! Making pie crust seems daunting, but all you need is a delicate touch and very cold butter. 

1. Start by mixing all the dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter or fork, break up the butter into the dry mix until you start to see pea-size pieces. This will be totally worth the wrist workout, as the cold butter will ensure a flaky crust. 

2. Next add the cold water vinegar solution little by little, working it together with your hands. Just enough for it to form a little mound. The idea is to see bits of cold butter worked in but not melted. Cut the dough in half. Toss one in the fridge and one in the freezer( You’ll need it for part 3 in our podcast series!)

**Preheat oven to 350

3. Place a skillet over medium high heat and sauté your bacon. As the fat starts rendering add the onions. Add the tomatoes once the onions go translucent and season the mixture. I kept it relatively simple with salt, pepper, garlic powder and cumin. 

4. You’ll notice the water released from the tomatoes has made our filling thinner than suitable for a pie. Add a tablespoon of cornstarch to help thicken it back up. Turn the heat on low. Let it simmer. As it thickens, combine the shredded cheese and mayo and set to the side.

5. Flour a surface and roll out the dough a quarter inch thickness. Place in a 9in pie pan, delicately stretching and pulling your dough till it’s covering the pan. Par bake the crust for 5 mins. (That’s just enough to keep it from going soggy as you add the filling.)

6. Once you’ve par baked the crust, add the filling and top it all with the mayo cheese mixture, spreading it till it covers the whole pie. Staying at 350, bake the pie for another 20-25mins or until both the cheese and crust are golden brown.