Tomato pie with carmelized onion
What a joy it is to cook in September! The markets are full of the most beautiful bounty of fruits and vegetables. A stroll through the farmer's market is inspiring and conjures almost too many ideas for what to cook. This Sunday I made a tomato and carmelized onion pie. It's definitely a weekend dish since it's a bit time consuming. But there's time between steps so it's easy to schedule in while reading the paper. And it's almost pizza, so picky eaters may just enjoy it as much as the grownups.
4 medium onions
1 T. olive oil
1 c. flour
1 c. almond flour (optional-- okay to substitute regular flour, but then add an additional half stick butter)
1/2 t. salt
1 stick unsalted butter
4 large tomatoes, mix any varieties you like. I used two low-acid orange tomatoes and two Jersey beefsteaks
fresh herb mix, a generous handful-- I used thyme, lemon thyme, and basil
2/3 cup good melty cheese, such as goat, gruyere, Jarlsberg, Comte, fontina
2/3 c. parmesan cheese
freshly ground pepper
Carmelize the onions. Peel and thinly slice onions. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and then the onions. Cook, stirring often for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for about another half hour, stirring frequently and scraping brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
Make the crust. Put the two flours and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to blend. Cut the butter into half inch cubes. Add to food processor. Pulse just until butter and flour combine into pea sized lumps, about 30 pulses. Add 3-4 tablespoons of ice water and pulse a few more times. Empty the processor bowl into a large bowl and use your hands to bring the dough together. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about a half hour. Roll out the dough to about 1/8" thickness on floured wax paper. Invert the wax paper over a tart pan and fit the crust into the pan.
Assembly. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Spread the carmelized onions over the bottom of the crust. Slice the tomatoes about 1/4" thick. Place a layer of tomatoes over the onions. Then layer the herbs. Another layer of tomatoes. Then layer the melty cheese. Another layer of tomatoes, freshly ground pepper and top with parmesan cheese. Bake for about 45 minutes until bubbling and golden on top. Let rest a few minutes before serving.
Six servings.