Southern Tomato Slab Pie Food

TOMATO SLAB PIE

Steps:

• For the dough: Combine the flour, Parmesan, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until mixed. Add about one third of the chilled butter and process until thoroughly combined (the mixture will be slightly yellow). Add the remaining chilled butter and pulse until the mixture resembles very coarse meal with pea-size bits of butter. Add the vinegar in a single pulse. Gradually add the ice water through the feed tube pulsing just until evenly combined. Squeeze a handful of the dough together, it should just hold its shape and be a little crumbly. If still very powdery, pulse again, adding up to 2 tablespoons ice water.
• Turn the dough out on a work surface. Pat about two thirds of the dough into a square about 1/2-inch thick. Repeat with the remaining dough. Wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
• Adjust an oven rack to the bottom position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter an 8-inch-square baking dish.
• For the filling: Toss the tomatoes with 2 teaspoons salt in a large colander set over a large bowl. Let stand, gently tossing about every 10 minutes, until the tomatoes release some of their juices, about 30 minutes. Drain the juices from the bowl, add the drained tomatoes and toss with the brown sugar and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer the onion to a medium bowl, stir in the thyme and let cool. Add the pepper Jack, mozzarella, parsley, scallions, mayonnaise, 1/4 cup of the breadcrumbs and the garlic to the onions and stir to combine.
• To assemble the pie: Let the dough stand at room temperature for a few minutes until slightly softened to make rolling easier. Place the larger piece of dough between two large pieces of floured parchment; roll into a rough 14-inch square (if the dough gets too soft, pop it in the fridge to firm up and then continue rolling). Roll the remaining dough into a rough 12-inch square.
• Transfer the larger piece of dough to the prepared baking dish. Gently press the dough along the bottom and up the sides of the dish. There will be overhang on all sides. Sprinkle the bottom with the remaining 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs; top with the cheese mixture spreading it in an even layer. Then add the tomatoes. Dot with the butter. Put the remaining dough over the filling, lining up the edges with the bottom piece of dough as best you can. Pinch the edges together, trim any excess, then fold and crimp to create a tight seal. Brush the top and edges of the crust with the egg and cut decorative slits in the top of the pie.
• Bake until the crust is dark golden brown and the filling bubbles out a little through the slits, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. (If the crust browns too quickly, cover the pie loosely with foil.) Let cool at least 2 hours before serving.

TOMATO SLAB PIE

Steps:

• Pulse flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add butter and shortening; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with some pea-size pieces remaining. Stir vinegar into ice water; drizzle 3 tablespoons over flour mixture and pulse several times to combine. Add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until mixture holds together when pinched. Shape dough into a rectangle and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day (or freeze up to 3 months; thaw overnight in refrigerator before using).
• Brush a 9-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet or baking pan with shortening; line with parchment, leaving a 1-inch overhang on long sides. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll out to a 12-by-15-inch rectangle. Transfer to prepared sheet, fitting dough into corners and tucking overhanging dough under. Refrigerate until chilled, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Slice cauliflower lengthwise through core to make 1/2-inch-thick steaks. Slice broccoli lengthwise through stems into 1/2-inch-thick pieces (it's okay if they come apart slightly). Blanch cauliflower until just tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Blanch broccoli until bright green and crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes; transfer to a separate plate. Blanch carrots until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes; transfer to a separate plate. Drizzle each plate of vegetables with 1 teaspoon oil. Toss zucchini in a bowl with thyme and remaining 1 teaspoon oil; season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Sprinkle panko evenly over bottom of dough, then sprinkle with fontina. Top with an even layer of cauliflower, then broccoli. Top with half of cheddar, then carrots, then zucchini. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar.
• Arrange tomato slices on top; season with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil. Bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling around edges, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool slightly. To serve, lift from pan using parchment overhang, then slice.

SOUTHERN TOMATO PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Fit pie crust inside a 9-inch pie plate, pressing into the bottom and up the sides of the plate. Fold crust edges under; crimp as desired. Place a piece of parchment paper over crust in pie plate, leaving a 3-inch overhang. Fill with pie weights or dried beans.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Carefully remove parchment paper and pie weights. Continue baking until crust is light golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Meanwhile, slice tomatoes crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices; arrange tomato slices in a single layer on paper towels. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt; let stand for 20 minutes. Pat tomato slices dry with paper towels.
• Whisk together mayonnaise and cream cheese until combined and smooth. Fold in 1 1/4 cups Cheddar cheese, egg, flour, garlic, cayenne, black pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt until combined.
• Spread half of the Cheddar mixture in the pie crust. Layer with 1/3 of the tomato slices in slightly overlapping circles. Repeat procedure with remaining Cheddar mixture and another third of tomato slices. Top with remaining tomato slices in slightly overlapping circles. Sprinkle with Parmesan and remaining 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese.
• Bake pie in the preheated oven until filling is set and lightly browned on top, 30 to 35 minutes, tenting crust with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning, if needed. Let stand for at least 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with thinly sliced basil before serving.