Tomato Pie - nuff said...

Ripe, summertime tomatoes take center stage in this savory pie. (Photo: Ian Knauer)

Colavita founder John Profaci Sr. told The New York Times last month that, “There is no tomato in this country or in Italy that’s as good as the New Jersey tomato. Some of the characteristics might be good, but there’s nothing that can match it overall.”

I happen to live two miles from New Jersey, just over the border in Pennsylvania, where I grow my own tomatoes. I have just three plants. This summer, my tomato plants grew to be almost seven feet tall. On any given day, I can pick between two and 12 ripe, red fruits. I’ve been eating a lot of tomatoes.

I’m not telling you this to brag. I’m telling you this to prove one of the points of this column: When you choose to eat with a hyper-local mantra, you’ll be eating a lot of a certain thing for a short period of time, and that thing you’ll be eating might be the world’s best. I live in a part of the world that, according to Mr Profaci—a verifiable expert when it comes to flavor—grows some of the best tomatoes, so I grow tomatoes. If I lived in Florida, I’d grow oranges and you’d be reading a recipe for marmalade. If I lived in Michigan, I’d grow cherries and you’d be reading about pie. Well, you’re still reading about pie—tomato pie.

I waited to make this recipe until I had a pile of tomatoes that were so ripe they bruised if I looked at them the wrong way. When I cut into them, they poured with juice. Normally cooking such ripe tomatoes requires a lot of evaporation, but this pie has a biscuit crust that sucks up the excess tomato juice. It is great hot, cold, or at room temperature. Most importantly, it uses up a lot of tomatoes.

Tomato Pie

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

fine sea salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup whole milk

2 1/2 pounds very ripe tomatoes

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 scallions, finely chopped

1/4 cup basil, finely chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped

freshly ground black pepper

4 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

Stir together flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips, then stir in milk with a fork (dough will be wet). Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Unwrap 1 dough, spreading the plastic wrap on a work surface. Cover the dough with another piece of plastic wrap. Roll dough out to fit in a 9-inch pie plate. Remove top layer of plastic, transfer the dough to the pie plate using the remaining plastic wrap, and then peel off plastic.

Slice tomatoes into 1/2-inch slices and layer them over dough in pie plate. Whisk together the mayonnaise, juice, scallions, basil, herbs, 1 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour mayonnaise mixture over tomatoes, then sprinkle with cheese.

Roll top crust out in the same manner as the bottom crust, transferring to the pie plate using the plastic wrap, then peel off plastic. Cut 1 steam hole in crust, then bake until the crust is golden and crisp and the filling is bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes.

The Newest, Greatest Thing - Ratatouille Pizza

Roasting the vegetables separately gives this veggie pie unexpected depth. (Photo: Ian Knauer)

We have come to the time of year when farm stands and gardens are busting at the belt. There are so many zucchini and eggplant and tomatoes that we can’t eat them fast enough. Yesterday alone I picked 13 ripe tomatoes from two plants in my garden. This is what I’ve been waiting for all year. We have entered the age of ratatouille.  

Chefs think ratatouille is a bit of an art and I agree. Taking the lazy approach by tossing all the veggies together in a skillet brings on a muddied result. It’s watered down pasta sauce with some zucchini thrown in. The key to great ratatouille is cooking each vegetable separately. Tomatoes take longer to roast than zucchini; eggplant loves the grill.

By treating each veggie as an individual, you coax their best forward. That’s how I say it. Here’s how Chef Joel Robuchon says it (read outloud in thick French accent): The secret to good ratatouille is to cook the vegetables separately so each will taste truly of itself.

Oh, the French.

To get my veggies to taste truly of themselves I think about my favorite versions of each. Nothing beats a roasted tomato, so for my ratatouille I roast my tomatoes. Eggplant, when grilled, is a sponge for smoke and char. I’m a sucker for caramelized onions, one of the cheapest flavor tricks of all time. All these steps are taken one at a time, ensuring maximum flavor.

The other secret to good ratatouille is to serve it on pizza.

Ratatouille Pizza

Serves 4

Ingredients

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 medium onions, sliced

5 medium tomatoes

1 medium zucchini

1 medium eggplant

1 frozen pizza dough, thawed and at room temperature

6 ounces shredded fresh mozzarella cheese

Fresh basil

Directions

Cook onions in 2 tablespoons oil with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a large heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently until onions are deep golden colored, about 35 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 500°F. Preheat grill.

Cut tomatoes in to 2-inch chunks and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Roast in oven until blistered and blackened in places and when juices have evaporated, about 30 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, cut zucchini crosswise into 1/4-inch slices and place on another baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Roast in oven with tomatoes until golden, about 20 minutes. Set aside.

Slice eggplant crosswise into 1/2-inch slices and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Grill eggplant, turning occasionally, until charred in places and tender, about 12 minutes. Set aside.

Everything in the recipe up to this point can be made a day in advance.

Toss the pizza dough with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and slowly stretch it to fit a baking sheet. Place eggplant on dough and sprinkle evenly with onions. Top with tomatoes, zucchini, and cheese. Bake pizza until crust is golden and cheese is melted, 15 to 18 minutes. Top with fresh basil.

A Whole Grain Pasta That Actually Tastes Good!

This light, flavorful pasta is like summertime in a bowl. (Photo:Ian Knauer)

I recently started eating tomatoes again after a many-month hiatus. It wasn’t enough that winter tomatoes taste like nothing; I would still buy them occasionally, tempted by their unseasonably ripe-looking redness. I was always, and I mean always, disappointed. But it took a book all about tomatoes (and why they don’t taste like anything when eaten out of season, not to mention the atrocious conditions by which they’re farmed) for me to finally stop buying them any time other than summer. But, it’s summer. (You should read Tomatoland by Barry Estabrook, too. He’s also an erstwhile contributor to this site.)

My garden’s tomatoes aren’t ready yet (with the exception of a few cherry tomatoes) but the local farm stands are starting to show their scarlet goodness, and I am all in. I eat them in sandwiches and salads and in my favorite summertime pasta sauce, where they are raw and tossed with olive oil, lemon juice, and thinly shaved zucchini.

But this post is only half about tomatoes. I’ve also been on a quest to find a whole-wheat pasta that I actually like. After a few gag-reflex-worthy tries, I found one.

MORE: Could You Live on $20 a Day? Ask Florida's Tomato Workers

The first reason to switch over from white flour pasta is the health benefits, so you’ll want to get the biggest bang for your effort. Buyer beware: Many whole-wheat pastas on the market are just regular pasta in disguise. Take a look at the ingredient list. If the word “enriched” is in there, put it back on the shelf. What you really want is a whole-grain pasta, and The Whole Grains Council (yes, there’s a whole-grains council) has made them easy to identify. If a pasta is made with whole grain there is a yellow postage-style logo on the package. They print a Basic Stamp (which denotes at least eight grams of whole grains per serving) and a 100% Stamp (with a minimum of 16 grams per serving). Go 100%.

And thus began the hard part of this article’s research. Some whole-grain pastas taste like dog food; some taste far worse. I won’t bother to list the losers.

Gia Russa makes my favorite whole-grain pasta. It has a slight nuttiness and a nice chew. It swirls around the fork (many of these pastas break into grainy pieces). At 55 grams per serving, it feels healthy without tasting too healthy and does a fine job of sucking up raw tomato juices.

Whole-Grain Pasta with Fresh Tomato and Zucchini Sauce
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients
1 small garlic clove
2 1/2 pounds tomatoes
1 large zucchini
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound whole-grain pasta
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Directions:
Mince garlic and mash to a paste with a pinch of salt using a large heavy knife.

Core and coarsely chop two thirds of tomatoes. Slice zucchini very thinly with a slicer. Toss chopped tomatoes and zucchini with the cheese, oil, garlic paste, lemon juice, salt, sugar, and pepper. Let stand until ready to use, at least 10 minutes.

While tomatoes stand, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately add to tomato mixture, tossing to combine. Sprinkle with basil and serve.