Tomato Pie (Tart) with Not-Fried Green Heirloom Tomatoes & Spicy Remoulade (Vegetarian or Vegan)

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2014

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OK. This is fucking easy & light & can be vegan if you have a vegan dough recipe. I used a Pillsbury pie crust which I just discovered has lard in it. Oops! I won’t make that mistake again.

Anyway – you can make your own pie crust with vegan butter or use a pre-made thing that is ACCIDENTALLY vegan – like Pillsbury Butter Flake Crescent Rolls. Check out SO FAKE IT IS VEGAN or PETA’s ACCIDENTALLY VEGAN list for some surprising vegan items.

The fact is – if you are vegan but not on a gluten-free diet – you probably can figure out your pie crust pretty easily. Gluten-avoiders probably have all their alternative options lined up, too, so I am not going to worry. I am just gonna post this easy & yummy thing & let you guys work out subbing where you need to sub.

I really LOVE fried green tomatoes but good luck finding genuine green tomatoes in LA. Yet – often when I squeeze the heirloom selection – the green ones are very hard. Likely, they would be red ones if left on the vine long enough. Who cares? The hard green ones (and a resilient yellow one) worked great in this dish. And, while it offers most of the pleasures of a fried green tomato recipe, it is not fried at all & comes with far less guilt.

This spicy remoulade I made is basically spicy Thousand Island dressing. Or – a tweak on the Delta Dipping Sauce I posted with my Spicy Baked Parmesan Zucchini Chips and my “Oh, shit! I ate too big of a chunk of a pot truffle and now I need to cook my way out of an eighteen hour high” dinner (for THAT story – look here – and read the whole post) – Spicy Southern Fried Cauliflower and Delta Dipping Sauce with Smashed Baked Potatoes and White Gravy and Buffalo Mac & Cheese – seen below, respectively.

There are a bunch of ingredients but you just blend them up & go – so don’t be intimidated.

SPICY REMOULADE

INGREDIENTS

(PS – you can go ALL mayo rather than with yogurt – if the extra calories don’t concern you or if vegan yogurt is hard to find.)

1/2 cup yogurt – or vegan alternative

1/4 cup mayo – or vegan alternative

1/8 cup grain or Dijon mustard

1-3 garlic cloves

1 tsp dill pickle juice

1 cocktail dill pickle

1 tsp capers

1/2 tsp prepared horseradish

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp hot or smoked paprika

1 tsp hot sauce (I used Crystal)

DIRECTIONS

Blend that shit up in a food processor or blender. Refrigerate.

Tomato Pie (Tart) with Not-Fried Green Heirloom Tomatoes

INGREDIENTS

Pie crust for the tart shell (I used Pillsbury but I hear there is lard in them – so choose or make your crust with your own dietary restrictions in mind)

4 heirloom tomatoes (color selection not important) – mine were NOT ripe & were rock hard so look for this sort (or the hardest tomatoes you can find) – sliced very thin

1 small sweet onion – sliced thin

2-4 garlic cloves – chopped

S&P

2 TBS butter – or vegan alternative

3/4 cup Panko or other bread crumbs

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Basil or arugula or parsley as garnish (insanely optional)

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

I used a spring form tart pan like this one (photo stolen from Google):

ANY spring form pan or even a traditional pie dish will do – so don’t go buying something you don’t need.

Whatever pan you use – grease it up with cooking spray or olive oil or butter.

Slice the tomatoes & lay them on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt & press more paper towels on top. This will remove lots of their moisture so your tart is not soggy.

Press your crust dough into whatever pan you are using and cut some vent slits in the bottom & bake empty (par-bake) for SEVEN MINUTES. Take it out of the oven & set aside.

After the tomatoes drain for 15 minutes or more – layer the sliced onions & garlic & tomatoes into your crust. Add lots of S&P.

Melt the butter in a pan and add the panko & seasonings. Spread it on top of the tomatoes.

Wrap tightly in foil (don’t forget the foil or your panko will burn) and bake for about 45 minutes to an hour – erring on the longer oven-time if you want really soft tomatoes. Remove the foil & bake another five minutes or until the panko turns golden.

Let this sucker rest unmolested for at least 15 minutes before cutting into it.

Serve with the spicy remoulade & any garnish you feel inspired to use. Bust out some champagne. It’s the holidays! Draw a hot bubble bath & polish off the champagne in the tub – with a copy of my book! www.bathingbook.com! Makes a great stocking stuffer – assuming the recipients of your stuffed stockings like to read raunchy comedies about drinking too much & regrettable sex.

Cheers!