Food

What’s in Season: Fresh Tomato and Corn Pie Recipe

Whether you are on team fruit or team vegetable, there is no arguing the tomato plays an important role in cuisines all over the world. And no region champions the juicy delicacy better than the American South.

From the humble to the hearty, Southerners incorporate tomatoes into all sorts of famed dishes, like the tomato sandwich, fried green tomatoes, chow chow and tomato pie.

With summer as their peak season, tomatoes come in a variety of different sizes and colors and make for the perfect treat on a warm day. In fact, you will be hard-pressed to find a Southerner whose childhood summertime lunches did not include a tomato sandwich made with ripe tomatoes, mayonnaise (Duke’s, of course) and Wonder Bread.

As Charleston’s first agrihood, Kiawah River has developed a working farm partnership with local Johns Island farmers that fosters farm-to-table living in a cooperative environment for Kiawah River’s residents. Our dedicated farmers at Freeman Farms, a fourth-generation, 100-acre farm, and at Rosebank Farms, a 15-acre farm run by Johns Island native Sidi Limehouse, harvest an assortment of crops and produce, including tomatoes during the summer season. In fact, Sidi was the first farmer to grow heirloom tomatoes in the region!

Kiawah River residents have their choice of the best pickings with Rosebank Farms’ farmstand, located at the entrance of the community. In addition to fresh-picked tomatoes from the farms at Kiawah River and throughout Johns Island, nearby Bugby Plantation on Wadmalaw Island offers its U-Pick Tomato Fields each summer for those who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty.

Once you have your tomatoes picked, washed and ready, try your hand at pastry chef Amanda Wilbanks’ tomato and corn pie recipe, as featured in Garden & Gun.

Tomato and Corn Pie Recipe

Ingredients

For the crust:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1.25 cups all-purpose flour

0.5 teaspoon salt

0.5 teaspoon granulated sugar

0.25 cup water

For the filling:

2 large tomatoes, sliced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup Duke’s mayonnaise

0.25 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

2 cups fresh corn kernels

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

Instructions

To make the crust, cut the butter into small cubes. Using a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour in a mixing bowl. Add the salt and sugar. Continue to work the butter into the flour until the mixture has a consistency of course-ground cornmeal. The cubes of butter should now be smaller than the size of a green pea.

Add the water, all at once. Continue to work the dough until the dough begins to come together. (Tip: Patience is key, here. Kneading might take longer than expected, but don’t add any more water than the recipe calls for.) Form the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and press into the shape of a disk. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours to chill.

Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Place it into a 9-inch pie plate and flute the edges.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place tomato slices on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt; set aside.

Whisk together the Duke’s mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, basil, and pepper in a small bowl.

Sprinkle the bottom of pie crust with 0.25 cup of cheese. Arrange half of the tomatoes over the cheese and sprinkle with corn. Cover the tomatoes with half of the mayonnaise mixture. Repeat layering with remaining tomatoes, corn, and mayonnaise mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Bake for one hour, or until bubbly. Cover with aluminum foil if cheese begins to brown too quickly.