Got to be green… “Go green,” is mostly what you hear these days. Why not go green in pie, green tomato pie that is sweet, not savory as red tomato pie can be and usually is. Hmm… but how about cooking a sweet red tomato pie while you’re at it? I just might have to do that, as well.
So here we are: Summer has long bid its goodbye, hung the curtain for its season, said, “Outtaaaa here!” Don’t cry tears of summer, there will be a new one next year. Settle into Fall and still find green tomatoes on the vines outdoors in the garden, leftover green fruit. It’s not a vegetable, it’s a fruit, so why not put it in pie as you would apple, blueberry and peach? If you like rhubarb pie, you will surely like green tomato pie. In fact, you will love it. Just make sure the crust is naturally flaky, that it is not too dry or soggy. This isn’t difficult, not anything too complex or complex, at all; it’s making a pie and baking it in the oven.
It is well after the first of October, and I still have too many green tomatoes in my garden. I might as well put them to good use. They will not grow large; some, not even medium-size, for the cold already here. The first frost is not far off from its first night of having to cover various plants. Don’t let anything go to waste if you can still have a say about it. Bake greeen tomato pie.
Green Tomato Pie ~
– the Brass sisters –
(The Pie Lady, NC)
pastry for double-crust pie, divided in half and chilled
4 cups peeled, cored and sliced green tomatoes
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 1/4 cups sugar
6 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 egg, beaten
Place tomato slices in a large bowl. Sprinkle with vinegar and lemon zest. Mix sugar, flour, salt, allspice, cinnamon and ginger in another bowl. Add to tomatoes and mix thoroughly to coat.
Place the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Place tomato filling in prepared pie shell and dot with butter. Add top crust, seal and crimp edges, cut decorative slits, and brush top with beaten egg. Place the pie on a baking sheet covered with foil to catch any drips.
Bake for 20 minutes; check crust for browning. If crust browns too quickly, cover pie loosely with foil. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake another 25 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling. Remove foil, if using, for last 5 minutes.
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