Mom’s Green Tomato Pie

I had always assumed my mom’s green tomato pie was a traditional Mennonite recipe, but few of my Mennonite friends had heard of it. Then I found a similar recipe here – so maybe my mom’s mom picked up the recipe during their time homesteading in Texas in the early 1900’s or from her relatives in the Dakotas or Idaho. In any case, it is a great memory from my childhood and I have now recreated it for my family! The tomatoes are from my back yard.

Ingredients

Filling:

1.5 lbs. green tomatoes thinly sliced – use mandolin for best results
1 c. golden raisins soaked in hot water
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. Ken’s ginger syrup (see recipe here)
(or 1 tsp. ground ginger, 1/4 c. water, 1/4 c. brown sugar)
6 tbsp.all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. lemon juice

Dough:

5 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. salt
1 lb Tenderflake lard or Crisco shortening
1 egg
2 tbsp. vinegar
cold water – add to egg and vinegar to make exactly one cup liquid

Topping:

3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Instructions:

Filling:

1. Thinly slice green tomatoes. A mandolin does a nice job of this.

2. In a saucepan, combine sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. Add tomato slices and lemon juice; gently toss to coat. Add soaked raisins. Simmer until tomatoes change to dull green (15 – 20 min.)

3. Separate the solids (tomatoes and raisins) from the liquid and set aside both for later.

Dough:

1. Put flour in mixing bowl. Add Tenderflake lard or Crisco shortening – cut into flour with pastry cutter until crumbled.

2. Put egg and vinegar into a 1 cup measuring cup and blend. Add cold water to make exactly one cup of liquid and add it to flour. Mix and knead until you have a nice ball of dough that isnt too dry (add a few drops of water) or too sticky (add a little flour).

3. Break ball into 6 equal portions (250 g. each) – dust each smaller ball lightly with flour and hand knead 60 times.

4. Roll one ball out on parchment paper or dough mat until big enough to line a 9 inch pie plate.

5. Roll out another ball and cut into 3/4 inch strips to use for lattice crust.

Note: Extra dough balls can be flattened, wrapped in parchment paper and placed two each into medium sized plastic freezer bags and frozen for future use. Pie dough freezes well – having some extra on hand makes it more likely that you will make more pies without the hassle of making dough again.

Putting It All Together:

1. Line a pie plate with dough and place the cooled tomato/raisin filling in the unbaked pie dough.

2. Mix half of the liquid reserved from the filling into 6 tbsp. of flour to make a smooth paste. Heat the other half of the liquid and stir in the flour paste. Simmer until the sauce thickens.

3. Pour liiquid over the pie filling.

4. Weave lattice top crust.

5. Sprinkle sugar/cinnamon/cardamom mix on top of crust.

6. Bake at 400 F for 40 – 45 min.

Serving Suggestion:

Pairs marvellously with Madagascar Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream!