Name: Bacon and tomato polenta-crust pie
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 160 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 4 heirloom tomatoes (about 1kg), thinly sliced; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 tbsp thyme; 100 gm feta, thinly sliced; 200 ml each milk and thickened cream; 3 eggs, lightly beaten; 8 rashers streaky bacon (see note); Polenta pastry; 150 gm (1 cup) plain flour; 70 gm coarse polenta; 120 gm chilled butter, cut into 2cm pieces; ½ tsp apple cider vinegar

Bacon and tomato polenta-crust pie

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for bacon and tomato polenta-crust pie.

Serves 8

Prep

40M

Cook

Total

2H 40M

Ingredients

4 heirloom tomatoes (about 1kg), thinly sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp thyme

100 gm feta, thinly sliced

200 ml each milk and thickened cream

3 eggs, lightly beaten

8 rashers streaky bacon (see note)

Polenta pastry

150 gm (1 cup) plain flour

70 gm coarse polenta

120 gm chilled butter, cut into 2cm pieces

½ tsp apple cider vinegar

Method

Main

1.For polenta pastry, combine flour, polenta and ½ tsp salt in a large bowl. Turn out onto a work surface, scatter butter on top and cut into flour with a pastry cutter or knife until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs with small lumps of butter still visible. Place vinegar in a jug with 90ml iced water, drizzle onto flour mixture and use a pastry cutter or knife to combine. Bring pastry together with the heel of your hand, pat into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate to rest (at least 1 hour).

2.Meanwhile, preheat oven to 150C. Place tomatoes in a single layer on baking trays lined with baking paper, drizzle with oil, scatter with half the thyme, season to taste and roast until almost dried out (50 minutes to 1 hour). Set aside to cool.

3.Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 5mm-thick, 35cm-diameter round and line a 23cm shallow pie dish. Trim edges, leaving a 2cm overhang, then gently roll edge of pastry under itself to rest on edge of pie dish to create a double-layered crust and press gently to seal. Pinch pastry edge to form a crimped crust and refrigerate to rest (30 minutes).

4.Preheat oven to 180C. Blind-bake pie crust until edges are light golden (10-12 minutes), then remove weights and paper, and bake until base is cooked through (10-12 minutes). Cool briefly, then layer tomatoes and feta in pastry case, seasoning between layers. Whisk milk, cream, eggs, and remaining thyme in a bowl, season to taste, then pour mixture over tomatoes and feta.

5.Interlace bacon on a sheet of baking paper to form a lattice pattern, transfer to top of pie (don’t worry if bacon overhangs a bit; it will shrink during cooking), place pie on a baking tray and bake until golden and set (50-55 minutes). Cool slightly before serving.