TASTE
Paula Deen's tomato pie just got lighter
| • | Veggin' out |
By Elaine Magee
Q. I've seen you save many a recipe from Food Network chefs, and now I'm hoping you can help me with this tomato pie from Paula Deen. I have a fabulous tomato garden and this recipe looks like a great way to use them, but I can't eat it if it's this rich. Help!
A. I love when backyard tomato crops are in full bloom! I also love lightening Miss Paula Deen's dishes. For the original recipe, a deep-dish pie shell is filled with sliced tomatoes, fresh basil and green onions, then covered with a mixture of 2 cups of grated cheddar and mozzarella cheese and a cup of mayonnaise.
I made a lighter, higher-fiber pastry crust with part whole-wheat flour, low-fat buttermilk and 4 1/2 tablespoons of canola oil. The cheese and mayonnaise mixture was made with reduced-fat cheese; 1/2 cup light mayonnaise and 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream.
With these switches, the fiber and smart fats (omega-3s and monounsaturated fat) go up and the calories (reduced by almost 200), grams of fat and saturated fat (more than cut in half), and milligrams of cholesterol all go down.
The original recipe (depending on the pie crust used) contains around 500 calories, 43 g fat, 12 g saturated fat and 46 mg cholesterol per serving (if eight servings per recipe). Here's the lightened version:
LIGHT & TASTY TOMATO PIE
For pastry crust:
For filling:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a deep-dish pie plate with canola cooking spray. Add flours and salt to mixing bowl and toss to blend. Put pancake syrup, canola oil and buttermilk to a 2-cup measuring cup and stir with fork to blend.
Pour canola oil mixture into the flour mixture and blend with a fork. As soon as the dough holds together, press it evenly into the prepared dish. Build the dough thicker around the rim so you can pinch into scallops if desired. Bake in center of oven 20 minutes.
While pastry is baking, lay tomato slices in a colander in the sink in single layer. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and let the tomatoes drain for about 15 minutes. When the pastry is out of the oven, layer tomato slices, basil and onion inside the pie crust. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon white or black pepper evenly over the top.
Combine the shredded cheeses, light mayo and fat-free sour cream in a medium bowl. Spread this mixture on top and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut into wedges and serve warm.
Makes 8 servings.
