Slow Roasted Tomato Pie With Saffron-Garlic Oil, Greens And Goat Cheese

Ingredients

• Herb Crust
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh herbs (such as rosemary or thyme)
• 1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• ¾ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1½ sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces
• 6 tablespoons ice water
• Saffron-Garlic Oil
• ½ teaspoon saffron threads
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 dried red chiles
• One 3-inch strip lemon peel, white pith removed
• One 3-inch strip orange peel, white pith removed
• Pie
• 15 medium or 10 large tomatoes (about 5 pounds), cored
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise (preferably Kewpie mayonnaise)
• 4 cups mixed baby greens
• Juice of ½ lemon
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ⅓ cup crumbled fresh goat's milk cheese (chèvre; about 3 ounces)

Directions

1. Make the crust: In a food processor, combine the flour, herbs, black pepper and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is no larger than a small pea, about six 1-second pulses. Add the water a little at a time, pulsing between additions until the mixture rides up the sides of the food processor bowl. Turn the crumbly dough out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and fold closed. Press the dough between the sheets of plastic wrap and flatten into a 1-inch-thick disk. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
2. While the dough chills, make the saffron-garlic oil: Toast the saffron threads in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until they deepen in color and smell fragrant, 1 to 1½ minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and use the back of a teaspoon to crush them into a fine powder. Return the saffron to the pan and add the olive oil, garlic, chiles, lemon peel and orange peel. Gently cook on medium-low heat until the mixture smells really good, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside for 10 minutes to let the flavors deepen.
3. Roast the tomatoes: Adjust one oven rack to the upper-middle position and one to the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 300°. Halve the tomatoes crosswise and scoop out the seeds so you are left with a tomato shell (save the seeds and juices to make Tomato Water), then halve the tomato lengthwise into quarters. Place all of the tomato quarters in a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the saffron-garlic oil and the salt and toss to combine. Place a wire rack onto each of 2 rimmed baking sheets. Place the tomatoes cut side down on the racks and roast until shriveled, about 2 hours, rotating the pans top to bottom and bottom to top about midway through cooking. Remove the baking sheets from the oven; once the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and discard the skins. Increase the oven temperature to 400° and adjust one oven rack to the lowest position.
4. While the tomatoes roast, roll the pie dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap until it is about ¼-inch thick (a circle shape is nice, too). Remove the top piece of plastic wrap and invert the dough onto a parchment paper-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Remove the other sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 20 minutes.
5. In a small bowl, combine the mustard and mayonnaise, then use a pastry brush to paint it over the chilled crust. Bake the crust on the bottom rack until it is golden brown around the edges, 18 to 20 minutes.
6. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and shingle the roasted tomatoes on top. Return the baking sheet to the bottom rack and bake until the underside of the crust is browned, 15 to 18 minutes longer. Remove from the oven, adjust an oven rack to the top position and set the broiler to high.
7. Sprinkle the pie with the goat cheese and broil until the cheese is warm, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and drizzle with a little of the remaining saffron-garlic oil (saving 1 tablespoon to dress the greens).
8. To a large bowl, add the greens, the remaining 1 tablespoon saffron-garlic oil, the lemon juice, the remaining ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and the black pepper. Toss to combine and pile on top of the pie. Slice into wedges and serve.