My parents are originally from Wilmington, DE and a popular party item is cold tomato pie. I love it, most people not from that area just don't get it, but my husband was all about it the first time he had a piece, to my pleasant surprise. An already vegan nostalgic meal that also pleases a crowd isn't exactly a common occurrence.
This is my first time attempting it, and of course right off the bat I made adjustments by adding roasted red bell peppers, black olives, and artichokes. This idea came from our recent trip to Santiago, Chile. We went to an Argentinian pizza joint and had a pretty unique pizza where they put the cheese on top of the crust, and then, the veggie toppings. We loved it, so why not incorporate it here?
This is another time consuming one, but again, why don't challenge yourself while in quarantine? All the same, to make it easier on myself, I did make the sauce two days ahead of time.
Outcome: I think my yeast might have been too old, because the crust didn't come out how I wanted it to. However, the taste was on point and I'll definitely take another stab at it.
Source: Susquehanna Life | Makes: 1 large pizza | Time: All day
Ingredients
Dough
2 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 cup water, heated to 110 degrees
2 tbsp sugar
3.5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp EVO for greasing pan
Sauce
2.5 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes
29 oz tomato sauce (couldn't find puree)
3 tbsp tomato paste
6 cloves garlic, finely minced (I added 2 cloves)
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
S&P to taste
Toppings/Garnish
1 cup roasted red #BellPeppers
1 14-oz can black #olives
1 14-oz can #artichokes
Grated Parmesan (skip if vegan, or replace with some nutritional yeast)
Instructions
The Sauce
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice the tomatoes in half, or quarters if they’re large. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and roast in oven for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients in a large saucepan and let simmer until thickened. Add roasted tomatoes when they’re done and mix until there are no large chunks (or you can puree the roasted tomatoes first). Continue to simmer until most of the water has evaporated and the sauce is thick. Set aside for the tomato pie. (You’ll have more sauce than you need for the pie.)
The Pizza
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast with the warm water and sugar. Stir to dissolve and let stand 5 minutes until it looks foamy.
Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the flour to the bowl. Dissolve salt in 2 T water and add it to the mixture. Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding more flour if necessary. The dough should be like warm, elastic Playdoh when it’s done.
Form the dough into a round and place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat the entire ball with oil so it doesn’t form a skin. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1.5 hours. Tip I learned from a neighbor: put your dough in your car and move it to a spot in direct sunlight.
[Skipped this step all together. The oven being on with nothing in it set our smoke alarms off even with our fans on at full blast. What you're supposed to do: One hour before baking, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, place baking stone on rack and heat oven to 500 degrees. If you don’t have a baking stone, use an overturned rimmed baking sheet.]
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat and coat with 2 tbsp olive oil. Place the dough on the baking sheet, slide it around to coat the bottom and sides with oil, then flip dough over and slide it around again. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to walk it out again.)
Using a fork, poke entire surface of dough 25-30 times, popping any large bubbles. Cover pan with plastic and let dough rest for 30 minutes. The dough should become slightly bubbly.
Place pan on baking stone (or overturned baking sheet) and lower oven temperature to 425 degrees. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes (or until top is lightly golden). Add tomato sauce and toppings, rotate pan and bake another 10 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove the tomato pie from the pan by lifting the overhanging parchment paper and return to the rack to finish cooling.
Move the pie to the fridge until ready to serve. I made the pie the night before and let it chill basically an entire day. Garnish with Parmesan or nutritional yeast. Slice it up, and enjoy!
Comments