Cooking & Spirituality: Tomato Pie

Cooking & Spirituality

By Lucia Ferrara

Today we are making tomato pie. Yes, tomato pie. I’ve been making this for years. It is perfect for picnics or a pot luck or a brunch. Serve it with a tossed garden salad and people just love it. You can, of course, make your own pie crust, but frozen pie crusts work just as well in a pinch.

Two notes: Don’t skip the cornmeal dusting on the pie crust bottom; it gives you a really great crunch. Some tomatoes are juicier than others, so don’t forget to blot the sliced tomatoes on a paper towel otherwise the pie can be a bit watery.

What I like about this recipe is that is a perfect summer time dish. You can use fresh ingredients from your garden or the local farmers’ market.

Preheat oven to 425

Ingredients

• 1 pie crust (9-inch, deep dish)
• 1 large tomato, thinly sliced
• 1 egg and 1 egg yolk
• ½ mayonnaise
• 8 oz shredded cheese (Colby and parmesan)
• ½ cup feta cheese (some use blue cheese)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dash of hot sauce (optional)
• Enough cornmeal to dust the bottom of the pie crust.
• 1-2 tbsp each of chopped parsley, scallions and dill

Notes:

1. Freeze the pie crust 15-20 minutes or refrigerate for an hour before adding the filling.
2. Blot slices of tomatoes with paper towels to absorb some of the moisture before adding to filling.
3. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake another 30 minutes.

Cooking as Spiritual Practice

Our reflection today is excerpted from the chapter “Naamah, Noah’s Wife,” in 18 Powerful Women of the Bible by Sara Thomas Tracy (Twenty-Third Publications).

A reading from the Book of Genesis (6:18-19)

I will establish my covenant with you. You shall go into the ark, you and your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives with you. Of all living creatures you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, one male and one female, to keep them alive along with you.

Our Prayer

We pray for all women who are stewards of the earth, who care for our environment, and who preserve our natural places. … We pray for all women who pause through their daily life to admire and appreciate and offer thanks for the beauty of God’s creation. Amen.

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All the articles and videos in the Cooking and Spirituality Series can be found here.

[Lucia Ferrara, the Director of Hospitality at Precious Blood Renewal Center. Share your thoughts with Lucia or ask her questions using the form below or by sending an email to info@pbrenewalcenter.org.]

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