Tomato Pie

It's hard to believe it's already the end of August. This summer has been hectic and busy, and the past month has not been filled with as much cooking as I would have liked. So I was completely psyched to get back into the kitchen to whip up this 'lil pie. When I saw these heirloom tomatoes, I nabbed a bunch and couldn't wait to use them.

Summer Tomato Pie
Serves 4
*Notes: I went lazy and used a prepared whole wheat crust -frozen, super easy, and actually tasty too! But of course feel free to make your own. Next time, I plan on going homemade... but as I didn't start making this til 8pm, I wanted to eat before bed-time ;-) In addition, this recipe makes use of my favorite white sauce from Vegan Yum Yum, but modified - see notes below...

Ingredients

• 2-3 large heirloom tomatoes, sliced fairly thin
• 1-2 ears corn, shucked and washed
• 1 zucchini, thinly sliced
• White sauce (modified- with tofu and using slightly less Earth Balance and milk- see instructions below)
• Crust (I used a prepared frozen whole wheat crust- or you can make your own)
• 1 tsp EVOO
• Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
• 4 large leaves fresh basil, chopped finely

Steps:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Prepare the white sauce as listed here, with the following changes: 
1. Instead of 1 cup of milk, use 3/4 cup, and instead of 1/4 cup Earth Balance, use 2 Tbsp.
2. Use slightly less than 1/2 package of tofu of choice, well drained. Place in food processor until smooth, and then add this to the sauce.
3. Steam the corn so it is somewhat under cooked- I placed it in a pan with a little water, and cooked for maybe 5-6 minutes with a lid on, rotating it 3 times. After cooking, it was still fairly crunchy, which is what you want. Cut the corn from the cob with a large knife and set aside.
4. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the zucchini slices and again, slightly under cook them (time will depend on how think you slice them). Sprinkle with a little pepper.
5. Layer the pie: add slices of zucchini and tomatoes in layers, drizzling with the sauce and corn, until the crust is full. Sprinkle with about 1/2 of your basil, and add a little salt and pepper. 
6. Cook for ~25 minutes, until crust is golden brown.
7. Cool for 5 minutes. To serve, sprinkle with additional basil and place on top of a bed of fresh greens.

This meal reminded me how much I love this white sauce, and the corn, zucchini, and basil went so well with the modified version. The tomatoes, too, were delicious, but I think made the sauce a little more runny than I was expecting- next time, I may thicken it with more flour or tofu, or maybe use some Daiya mozzarella shreds too!