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Insides: 2 lbs. vine ripened tomatoes 6 oz. Italian sausage, crumbled, fried and defatted 5-6 oz. fresh grated parmesan cheese 2/3 cup chopped green onions 1/3 cup pesto |
Crust: Enough buttermilk biscuit dough to render a top and bottom crust in a 9” pie pan (your recipe should call for about 21/2 cups flour) 1 1/2 tsp dried basil |
Preparation:
Make up your favorite biscuit dough. I’ve used Bisquick® and, although I prefer my own, it’s not bad. Don’t use prepared biscuits from the refrigerated section of your grocery. They have a funny taste. Besides, it’s difficult to accomplish the next step with them, which is: mix the basil into the biscuit dough.
Divide the basil-laced biscuit dough into two equal parts. After you've buttered, oiled or sprayed (with non-stick cooking spray) the pie plate liberally, roll out one half of the dough and press it into the pie plate, forming a bottom crust.
Distribute the tomatoes, sausage, green onions and cheese in successive layers into the crust. When you get finished with one section of layers drizzle some pesto over them. Keep going until you’ve used up all the ingredients.
Roll out the other half of the biscuit dough and top the pie with it. It’ll look unwieldy. Don’t worry, the insides collapse during baking and the juices are absorbed into the crust. Seal the edges of the crust. Poke a few holes in the top for ventilation. Bake about 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
Let it mellow for 45 minutes or so, until it’s touchably warm and the flavor peaks.
Play Tips:
Meat isn’t necessary. Or, substitute pepperoni (defatted in the microwave for 15-25 seconds on high, depending on wattage and quantity of pepperoni) or bits of ham. Like green peppers? Throw some in. Celery? Why not? Herb dressing instead of pesto? Of course. For a heartier crust, substitute a half cup of whole wheat flour (or rye, or graham four) for a half cup of the white flour in your biscuit recipe. Once, I ran out of white flour and had to use an entire cup of wheat flour. To my taste, it made the crust even better. This recipe begs for experimentation.