Cherry Tomato Crostata

You know, there was a time I was obsessed with Martha Stewart. I loved her and I wanted to be like her. I watched her shows and subscribed to her magazine. I only got rid of the magazines a few years ago, and that's only because my mother was cleaning out her basement and came upon them and didn't want to keep them any more. I don't blame her. I don't know when was the last time I looked through them. Probably 15 years ago.

Anyway, it was during this time in my twenties, that I decided I wanted to perfect the fruit pie. Crust and all. Especially the crust. You see, Martha was baking these beautiful pies that were made from scratch and used fruit that she grew herself on Turkey Hill in Conneticut. Go figure! So I was making and baking pies practically every week. And I think after a few months, I did perfect the pie...I also gained 20 pounds but whatever, I made beautiful pies.

So then I spent my thirties trying to lose the twenty pounds, which meant I stopped making pies. I still make a pie here and there but my crust is not nearly as perfect as it used to be. But I don't mind.

When I came upon this recipe for tomato pie, it called for a crust made from scratch. I debated whether to make it or use an already prepared crust from the frozen section in the grocery store. Ultimately the grocery store won. Martha would be very disappointed. Oh well.

I doubled this recipe because I had a lot of cherry tomatoes from my garden.

Cherry Tomato Crostata
makes one 9inch pie

1 prepared pie crust, thawed
2 pints cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup basil, chopped
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence (optional)
5 1/2 cups grated provolone or fontina cheese
1/2 cup mayo

Preheat oven to 375F.
Mix the cheese, basil and mayo. Spread the mixture over the bottom of the pie shell. Top with the cherry tomatoes and press down. Bake for 35 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling. Cool for 10 minutes and serve.

m xo