Tomato Pie

Ah, late August, the season for earthquakes, hurricanes and tomatoes in upstate New York.  For the record, of the three, I prefer a glut of tomatoes over an excess of seismic activity or a deluge of rain accompanied by ridiculous winds.  

I took a bike ride Saturday to the Troy Farmer's Market to pick up a gallon (What? You don't buy your maple syrup by the gallon?!) of maple syrup.  Naturally, when you're riding a bike with saddlebags, as is true with many of life's experiences,  balance is important.  So, I picked up some gorgeous tomatoes, beautiful peaches and peppery arugula, in my quest to keep on an even keel as I rode back to the DelSo.  The maple syrup is for the impressive number of pancakes and/or waffles the Lilly boys can put away, as well as for adding a touch of sweetness to roasted squash and root vegetables as the season changes and I begin cooking autumnal style.  But, let's not rush things because there are still plenty of tomatoes to be eaten and I'm suggesting you enjoy some of them in a tomato pie.

Before baking

After

The basis of the recipe came from the August 2011 issue of Bon Appetit. Of course, I didn't really measure closely and I ignored the dill called for in the recipe and substituted basil and flat leaf parsley instead, with great results.  I also did not have Parmesan so I used some Asiago instead.  I found the buttermilk dough to be a bit onerous to work with.  Maybe I needed it to be colder to successfully roll it out?  A wider plastic wrap would probably have been helpful as the circumference of the dough exceeded the width of the plastic wrap making things challenging.  Or perhaps, I just suck at dealing with dough.  Anyway - it may not have been beautiful, but, it sure was tasty.  And, unlike Hurricane Tropical Storm Irene, this dish lived up to the hype.   

PS - I sincerely hope you all made it through the storm safely with minimal damage.