Corn, tomato, and cheese pie

A friend recently sent me a link to a terrific blog, titled "nothing-in-the-house," which is fully devoted to (and dare I say 'inspired by??') the art of pie baking. Well, reading the blog has completely reignited my somewhat expired love/passion/obsession with pie baking. It's been really fun, actually, rediscovering my interest and getting excited about making pies again!

So I've been dreaming all week of making a pie...meanwhile the weather has begun to feel like fall, making it an even more perfect time for baking (and eating) pie. I'd seen the recipe for a tomato corn pie on the smitten kitchen blog earlier in the year and been intrigued. And so with my new found inspiration I looked up that recipe, adapted it a bit, and made my own version.




Well, the pie turned out so well! We shared it with our 2 sisters and there is not a crumb left of the pie.

The original recipe that peaked my interest can be found here. However, I altered the recipe quite a bit and so I've written my version of the pie recipe below. I hope that you will be inspired and try baking this, or perhaps another type of pie.




Ingredients:

For the crust:
1 cup whole wheat flour (I used bread flour b/c that's what I had but I'll bet pastry would be better)
1 cup white pastry flour
sea salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
A little over 1/4 cup olive oil
Water as needed

For the filling:
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
Corn from 2 cobs, coursely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh basil
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup goat cheese
1/4 cup mild cheddar cheese, grated
salt to taste
paper to taste

For the crust:

Prebake oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the olive oil, followed by the buttermilk, and mix into flour. Slowly add water while stirring, until the mixture forms a nice ball that is not too sticky. If you add too much water, just add a little extra flour to the mix. Divide the dough into 2 equally sized balls. Wrap one ball of dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for later. Roll out the other ball on a lightly floured surface until it measures a 12 inch circle. Carefully drape the rolled out dough over your rolling pin and transfer it to a 12 inch pie dish. Place lightly oiled aluminum foil over the crust, and pie weights or dried beans on top of the foil. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes. Remove the weights and foil, lower the heat to 350 degrees, and then bake the dough for another 10 minutes. Remove the dish with the bottom crust from the oven and allow to cool. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Layer the filling ingredients in the your bottom crust:

First, empty the contents of the can of tomatoes in the dish. Next, sprinkle the chives and basil on top of the tomatoes and sprinkle salt and pepper on top of the herbs. Follow this with the coarsely chopped corn, and then spread the ricotta and goat cheeses on top of the corn. Finally, sprinkle on the grated cheddar cheese. Roll your second ball of dough into a 12 inch circle and pinch into place as the top crust. Cut 3 or 4 slits in the top dough layer for ventilation. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the dough is brown, the filling is bubbling, and the smells emanating from your kitchen are causing your tummy to growl and your mouth to water.