I first tried this recipe back for Abby's birthday in September, so it was an early cooking in Bulgaria experience. For Abby's birthday, we were having a southern themed dinner party, so I thought that a corn and tomato pie would fit the bill. It ended up being quite a production at the time, but after making it a second time, I am not sure if it was easier this time around because I only did 1x the recipe this time (and had made 1.5x for the bigger dinner party), because I forgot/intentionally left out a few several ingredients, or just because I was familiar with what I was doing. At any rate, it was a really big hit the first time, and everyone was excited to see it on the dinner table again, accompanied by chicken breasts baked in my Greek spice mix from Athens. We finished off the whole pie between 5 of us and felt very happy about that.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 3/4 teaspoons salt, divided
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons or 3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 2 teaspoons melted
3/4 cup whole milk [I used my almost-skim]
1/3 cup mayonnaise*
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice*
1 3/4 pounds beefsteak tomatoes [I used 4 tomatoes]
1 1/2 cups corn (from about 3 ears), coarsely chopped by hand (my preference) or lightly puréed in a food processor, divided [I used a 250g can of corn, drained]
2 tablespoons finely chopped basil, divided*
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives, divided*
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided*
7ounces coarsely grated sharp Cheddar (1 3/4 cups), divided
*I left out these ingredients this time, to no one's notice or disappointment. I did sprinkle some dried basil to make up for forgetting the fresh basil, but otherwise no substitutions.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 3/4 tsp salt in a bowl, then blend in cold butter (3/4 stick) with your fingertips or a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal. Add milk, stirring until mixture just forms a dough, then gather into a ball.
Divide dough in half and roll out one piece on a well-floured counter (my choice) or between two sheets of plastic wrap (the recipe’s suggestion, but I imagined it would annoyingly stick to the plastic) into a 12-inch round (1/8 inch thick). Either fold the round gently in quarters, lift it into a 9-inch pie plate and gently unfold and center it or, if you’re using the plastic warp method, remove top sheet of plastic wrap, then lift dough using bottom sheet of plastic wrap and invert into pie plate. Pat the dough in with your fingers trim any overhang. [I had to make this ahead of time because I had rehearsals, and so I just stuck the rolled out dough into the fridge to wait for me, and it seemed fine later]
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Whisk together mayonnaise and lemon juice.
Cut an X in bottom of each tomato and blanch in a large pot of boiling water 10 seconds. Immediately transfer with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to cool. [Judging by the difficulty I had with this, I think more than 10 seconds may be necessary]. Peel tomatoes, then slice crosswise 1/4 inch thick and, if desired (see Notes above recipe), gently remove seeds and extra juices. Arrange half of tomatoes in crust, overlapping, and sprinkle with half of corn, one tablespoon basil, 1/2 tablespoon chives, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and one cup of grated cheese. Repeat layering with remaining tomatoes, corn, basil, chives, salt, and pepper. Pour lemon mayonnaise over filling and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Roll out remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch round in same manner, then fit over filling, folding overhang under edge of bottom crust and pinching edge to seal. Cut 4 steam vents in top crust and brush crust with melted butter (2 teaspoons). Bake pie until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes, then cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 3/4 teaspoons salt, divided
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons or 3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 2 teaspoons melted
3/4 cup whole milk [I used my almost-skim]
1/3 cup mayonnaise*
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice*
1 3/4 pounds beefsteak tomatoes [I used 4 tomatoes]
1 1/2 cups corn (from about 3 ears), coarsely chopped by hand (my preference) or lightly puréed in a food processor, divided [I used a 250g can of corn, drained]
2 tablespoons finely chopped basil, divided*
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives, divided*
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided*
7ounces coarsely grated sharp Cheddar (1 3/4 cups), divided
*I left out these ingredients this time, to no one's notice or disappointment. I did sprinkle some dried basil to make up for forgetting the fresh basil, but otherwise no substitutions.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 3/4 tsp salt in a bowl, then blend in cold butter (3/4 stick) with your fingertips or a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal. Add milk, stirring until mixture just forms a dough, then gather into a ball.
Divide dough in half and roll out one piece on a well-floured counter (my choice) or between two sheets of plastic wrap (the recipe’s suggestion, but I imagined it would annoyingly stick to the plastic) into a 12-inch round (1/8 inch thick). Either fold the round gently in quarters, lift it into a 9-inch pie plate and gently unfold and center it or, if you’re using the plastic warp method, remove top sheet of plastic wrap, then lift dough using bottom sheet of plastic wrap and invert into pie plate. Pat the dough in with your fingers trim any overhang. [I had to make this ahead of time because I had rehearsals, and so I just stuck the rolled out dough into the fridge to wait for me, and it seemed fine later]
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Whisk together mayonnaise and lemon juice.
Cut an X in bottom of each tomato and blanch in a large pot of boiling water 10 seconds. Immediately transfer with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to cool. [Judging by the difficulty I had with this, I think more than 10 seconds may be necessary]. Peel tomatoes, then slice crosswise 1/4 inch thick and, if desired (see Notes above recipe), gently remove seeds and extra juices. Arrange half of tomatoes in crust, overlapping, and sprinkle with half of corn, one tablespoon basil, 1/2 tablespoon chives, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and one cup of grated cheese. Repeat layering with remaining tomatoes, corn, basil, chives, salt, and pepper. Pour lemon mayonnaise over filling and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Roll out remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch round in same manner, then fit over filling, folding overhang under edge of bottom crust and pinching edge to seal. Cut 4 steam vents in top crust and brush crust with melted butter (2 teaspoons). Bake pie until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes, then cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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