August ABC challenge: Sweet Green Tomato Pie

This month's challenge was a "throw back" -- any theme we wanted to duplicate from this year.  It's so rare to get my hands on green tomatoes, so when I do, I make pie.  This Green Tomato-Apple Pie was fantastic, but I decided to try a different recipe this time that uses only tomatoes. (I was also curious about the white pepper.)  I thought green tomatoes would have a tart taste, but they don't.  They taste very slightly green, but otherwise have pretty much no flavor at all.

I didn't want a whole pie, so I halved the filling ingredients with the intention of using a 6"-diameter, deep pie plate.  (Actually, I needed a little more than half.  Doing the math, the volume of a 9-inch pan, 1-inch deep = 63.62 in³; the volume of a 6-inch pan, 1.5-inches deep = 42.4 in³.)  A very large tomato gave me just 2 cups, but I ended up using a second, medium-sized tomato, which just brought the filling to the rim without any mounding when packed in.  I kept all the other filling ingredients at half quantities.  I made the full recipe of pie dough and used about 3/4 of it.

Here is the full recipe:

1 Basic Sweet Pie Crust
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
4 cups finely chopped green tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice*
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons heavy cream

Make the pie crust and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Divide the dough in half. Place 1 piece of the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to an 11-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan. Trim the crust with scissors or a sharp knife to within ½ inch of the outer rim.

In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the flour mixture across the bottom of the prepared piecrust. Add the tomatoes and lemon juice to the bowl with the remaining flour mixture and toss to coat. Spoon the tomato mixture into the pie shell, and dot with the butter.

Roll out the remaining crust on a lightly floured surface. Place on top of the tomato filling and tuck the overlapping crusts into the pan, forming a thick edge. Crimp the edges to seal and cut small, ½-inch long vents in a decorative pattern along the top crust. With a pastry brush, brush the top of the crust with the cream, and sprinkle with the remaining ½ teaspoon of sugar.

Bake for 15 minutes at 425F, then reduce the temperature to 375F. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Basic Sweet Pie Crust
8 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1½ cups plus 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
3-4 tablespoons ice water 

Sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Using your fingers, work in the butter and shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 2 tablespoons of ice water and work with your fingers until the water is incorporated and the dough comes together. Add more water as needed to make a smooth dough (I used about 3½), being careful not to over-mix. Form the dough into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.

*I accidentally doubled the lemon juice, using the full tablespoon for half the filling amount.

I used raw sugar on top of the crust, but I'm not sure I like the speckled appearance it causes.  I forgot about watching for the crust burning.  I checked at 30 minutes and the edges were too brown, so I covered them and baked the pie for another 8 minutes to make sure the top crust was crisp all the way through.  It bubbled over quite a bit, but fortunately I used a pan under the pie just for that.

 

Interestingly, the tomato-apple pie had more sugar, less cinnamon, ginger instead of white pepper, and a LOT more salt, but I liked it more (as I recall.)

Conclusion:  Hmm... Well, it's good, but I've had better.  It's very sweet-- could use less sugar-- but had a nice tang, I guess from the extra lemon juice.  The first bite had an interesting, almost floral taste that I couldn't source.  I'm not a fan of the flour in the filling, or at least not that much-- it made it a bit gummy and gave it a commercial texture.  The crust wasn't a winner either-- no flavor at all.  It needs that extra salt.  Lastly, it would be prettier-- and look more homemade-- if the tomatoes were sliced rather than diced.  (They did hold their shape really nicely.)

Recipes:  Old Fashioned Sweet Green Tomato Pie and Basic Sweet Pie Crust via Emeril Lagasse