SOUTHERN TOMATO TART

Most recipes call for cheddar cheese in Southern tomato pies.  I love to use my favorite Swiss cheese, Gruyére.

Other good choices are Emmentaler, Edam, or Gouda. 

I included my recipe for a savory pie crust.  

To save time, buy an already prepared pie crust.

Gruyére is a Swiss hard cheese made from cow's milk

Emmentaler or Emmental cheese is a Swiss cheese made from cow's milk.

Edam and Gouda cheeses are from the Netherlands, also made from cow's milk.

Edam is drier than Gouda and a little easier to grate.

Savory Single 9-Inch Crust

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (I use White Lily)

½ t fine sea salt

½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces and placed in freezer 10 minutes

1 t lemon juice

¼ cup ice cold water

Pulse flour and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

Remove butter from freezer and add to food processor.

Pulse until butter pieces are the size of peas.

Add lemon juice to water and slowly pour through shoot and process until mixture comes together.

Turn dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap.

Gather the dough up and press into a disc.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Press dough into a 9-inch tart or pie pan.

Use a fork to make holes in the bottom of the pie crust, known as docking.

Line crust with aluminum foil and fill pie weights or dried beans.

Bake for 20 minutes.  

Remove foil with pie weights and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Let pie crust cool 30 minutes before filling.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

Filling

4 to 5 medium to large assorted heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 t sea salt or Himalayan pink salt

1 medium Vidalia onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

1 T avocado oil or neutral oil of your choice

1 t fine ground black pepper

¼ cup chopped basil, chives, thyme, and parsley

½ cup grated Gruyére cheese

½ cup grated Emmentaler cheese (Edam or Gouda)

2 T Dukes mayonnaise

½ cup finely chopped herbs, such as basil, thyme, chives, and Italian parsley.

Place sliced tomatoes on a large baking sheet lined with paper towels.

Sprinkle with salt and let sit 15 minutes.

Place paper towels on top of tomatoes and pat dry.

Sauté onion in oil for 10 minutes, until tender and set aside.

Place grated cheeses in a bowl and mix together with mayonnaise.

Place a layer of cheese on bottom of pie crust.

Follow with a layer of cheese, herbs, and tomatoes.

Sprinkle tomatoes with black pepper.

Repeat again.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Sprinkle with a little more herbs and serve warm or at room temperature.