Cara Can Cook

When I set out to make this “channel”, I wasn’t really planning on making / posting many recipes. I’m not a professionally trained chef. I’m just a home cook. Unless there were extenuating circumstances, I was just gonna stick to my lane.

Well, there have been extenuating circumstances.

My FAVORITE recipe to make every summer is a fresh tomato pie. I have been making them for years, and at this point I literally grow an assortment of heirloom tomatoes just to bake into pies.

So imagine my dismay when I went online to find my tried-and-true recipe, only to discover the website was down. And I had no copy of the recipe ANYWHERE.

So, instead of finding a new recipe, I did the totally reasonable thing and wrote down what I remembered from the recipe and experimented with ingredient ratios until I got it right.

Four pies later, here is that goat cheese and heirloom tomato pie recipe.

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Ingredients

• 4-6 heirloom tomatoes (depending on tomato size)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 8 oz goat cheese
• 3 egg whites (save one yolk in a separate dish)
• two frozen pie crusts OR one batch homemade dough
  • I use this galette dough recipe even for pie crusts
• 10-12 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1-2 tbsp honey
• salt and pepper, to taste

This recipe makes one deep dish pie or two shallow pies. As I will discuss later, you can also make 4 mini-galettes or 2 medium sized ones.

Process

Listen. This process will seem unnecessarily detailed. It’s not. Tomatoes have a lot of water and a damp pie is no good. Follow the steps to get a delicious pie with no soggy-bottom..

Before you start, prepare your pie crust to recipe specifications OR prep your frozen crust per package instructions.

• Cut your heirloom tomatoes into 1 cm thick slices.

• Lay out in a single layer on top of paper towels. Add paper towels on top as well and press with a weight
  • I find the best way is to put a cookie sheet or large cutting board on top and then a few cook books
  • Let them sit AT LEAST 20 minutes
• Start pre-heating your oven to 400F
• Meanwhile, mix your goat cheese, sour cream, and egg whites in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.
• Add salt and pepper to taste
  • no need to overdo it – you’ll be adding some more to the tomatoes
  • this can sit at room temp till you need it.
• Blind bake your crust for 10 minutes
  • use baking weights (or dried beans) to keep the bottom from rising
• Remove the paper towels from the tomatoes.
• Sprinkle all with salt, pepper and the leaves from the thyme.

• Take the crust out and remove the weights. Now we’re gonna layer the pies.
• Start with some of the goat cheese mix, and then add tomatoes on top.
  • For one large pie, you’ll have three layers of goat cheese mix and three layers of tomatoes
  • For two smaller pies, you’ll have two layers of each
  • For galettes you just do a single layer of cheese topped with tomatoes

• Make an egg wash with the one yolk you saved – brush the crust
  • this can be skipped for a normal pie, but is essential for a galette
• Top pie with a drizzle of honey
• Bake until cheese mix is set and beginning to brown
• Let cool completely before eating. I think it might even be better the second day.

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I have tested this recipe in multiple different forms, and can offer the following advice…

Large single pie – great if you love tomatoes and dramatic slices. The worst if you love crust.

Double pies – best for a meal now and another later. Also low on crust.

Galette – highest crust-to-pie ratio and easiest to make. A little “rough and ready” but is my kids favorite.

Happy eating!