Tomato & Bacon Pie

[wwcitizen]

dewittar inspired me again! I could not get his Tomato & Bacon Pie out of my head. I'm certainly destined to make the tomato preserves just because. But, from the moment he mentioned it (without his recipe initially), I couldn't get it out of my head and off my tongue. I kept thinking about it, looking up the (myriad of) recipes for it, and waiting for him to post his recipe, which I ultimately used. It's so simple. It's so straightforward. It's so fresh. I had to try it. Here's my version (and I got the BEST bacon for it - thick and lower fat):






IT IS (well, was!) SO TASTY!! The only thing I'll have to tweak in my version - even though I pre-baked the crust - is the crust. The bottom of the pie got really, really soggy, and I didn't like the consistency. Matt's first suggestion was to make our own crust; I took the quick and easy way out by buying the crust. His second suggestion was from a chef on the Food Network to sprinkle in a little almond flour, or any type of flour on the crust before placing in the ingredients. I'll have to try that.

I haven't made a pie in YEARS and this was an excellent start for the season. I'll have to get into other ones and I'm really looking forward to the fall this year.

BTW, THANKS, RODNEY!!! You're the best.

Here's the recipe dewittar used, taken from Real Cajun cookbook.

INGREDIENTS

12 ounces sliced bacon
3 ripe medium tomatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 (9-inch) prebaked pie crust, cooked
Salt and pepper
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
5 ounces cheddar or pepper jack cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS

Prepare a deep dish pie crust (refrigerated pie crust will be fine). Prick the bottom of the crust and bake at 350° or until lightly browned. Allow to cool.

Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp and set aside to cool on paper towels or a brown paper bag.

Preheat the oven to 375°. Place a layer of tomato slices on the bottom of the crust and lightly season with salt and pepper. Top with a layer of onion slices and cheese. Repeat this process two more times.
Crumble the cooked bacon over the top layer of onions and cheese and bake for about 25 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the tomatoes have released some of their moisture. Place pie on a wire rack and allow it to cool completely.