I Didn't Get Sheepdogs, but I Did Get Pie

I was promised sheepdogs yesterday. Specifically, I was promised a sheepdog herding demonstration. Needless to say as we were preparing to leave the house, I was stupidly excited. I even sent texts to people in all capital letters saying OMFG I'M GOING TO SHEEPDOG DEMONSTRATION LA LA LA LA LA LA.

You guys I even wore tweed. I WORE TWEED. I WAS SO PREPARED.

Imagine my heartbreak, then, when we arrived at the country fair only to be told that the demonstration had happened earlier that morning.

"Gutted" does not even begin to describe it. And that was just me. Mum actually insisted that we walk over to the field where it had taken place. "Just in case there are still some dogs there."

There were no dogs there.

We double checked the schedule. We asked several people. We checked the schedule again. We listened very carefully for the sound of barking.

Nothing.

HOWEVER TAKE HEART DEAR READER. Because there is ANOTHER DEMONSTRATION happening next weekend. THIS country fair is specifically devoted to sheepdogs. And sheep. And, you know, herding. So as my grandfather used to say, you can bet your sweet bippy that we will be there. Not only with bells on, but with tweed. And possibly wellies. Depending on the weather.

And it must be said, the day was far from a total washout. Not by a long shot. It was sunny, it was warm. There was a used bookstore. There was a stand selling lavender lemonade. There was a portable wood burning oven firing pizza slices. (woodsmoke + cooking bread dough = olfactory heaven) There was soap and honey and sachets filled with rose petals. There was a fiddle player. There were several cherubic babies. There were even people walking down the middle of the street walking goats on leashes like dogs. It was still pretty damn awesome.

And in T-6 days, I will get my sheepdogs. Rah.

As there normally are at things like these, there were farmstands. Which means there were TOMATOES. It's still a little too early for full tomato season, but there was one stand that had some good ones. And once the season starts in earnest, get ready dear reader, because there will be a HELL of a lot of tomatoes on this blog. I freaking love tomatoes.


So. Faced with no sheepdogs yet full of lavender lemonade and with my hair smelling of wood fired pizza, and with a canvas bag (natch) full of still sun-warm tomatoes, what was a Beetle going to make for dinner?

TOMATO AND WHITE BEAN PIE

I had been flipping through a Maine cookbook last week and came across a recipe for a Tomato Strata that sounded delicious. Essentially baked tomatoes with breadcrumbs, olive oil, and garlic. I used that recipe for the cooking time and made up the rest. I also, genius me, made it in a pie plate. Because.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
• 1 can white beans, drained
• 1 small onion
• 1 bunch fresh sage leaves
• Olive oil
• Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a frying pan, add onion and cook about 5 minutes. Add sage and white beans and cook about 5 minutes more until the onion is starting to brown and the sage is crisping. Remove from the heat and set aside.


When you add the beans be prepared for smoke as the liquid evaporates.
It looks volcanic and overwhelming for a minute but it goes away.
It's sort of fun, actually.

Coat the bottom and sides of the pie plate with a little bit of olive oil. Lay the slices of two of the tomatoes on the bottom. Spread the onion and bean mixture on top of the tomatoes and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Top that with the remaining tomato slices and sprinkle with cheese again.


Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes until the tomatoes have gone all squishy and awesome.

Incidentally, THIS in an of itself is a pretty awesome dinner option too. Just in case you were
deathly allergic to tomatoes. In which case I AM SO SORRY but give me yours.

Demonstration of layers.

And demonstration of cheese sprinkling.

BEETLE NOTES
 

First. This was a resounding success. It's a keeper. It will be made ALL summer. You guys this even got the highest of Mum compliments: "I bet this would be good for breakfast too." Yay. (I pointed out she still had about 50 caraway buns plus lemon thyme cornbread in the bread bin and she could damn well wait until Sunday supper, but I digress.)

It's pretty adaptable for larger dishes too, and I don't think it needs to be kept to pie form. I can see it translating into a really nice cold veggie salad if you decided to chop the tomatoes and not cook them. Or chopping them and mixing everything together and baking it. The bottom line here is: it's an awesome combination. I decided to make a simple pie with only three layers and put the entire filling between the tomatoes. But you could go wild and crazy and stack that puppy to the ceiling. If that's your thing.

When you serve it, it will absolutely not remain in pie form. Don't get upset. It's not you. Just spoon it out into a bowl, sprinkle it with more cheese, and making happy eating noises while you dream of sheepdogs to come.