Tomato Pie
Nothing says summer to this Midwesterner like freshly picked tomatoes. In addition to cooking, you can find me tending my raised bed garden most days. It’s the first day of August and that means my hard work and labor over the past 3 months are now paying off. My garden is bursting with fresh produce.
Since childhood my favorite vegetable has been tomatoes. I have fond memories of helping my mother in the garden. Picking super sweet cherry tomatoes off the vine and right into my mouth. In fact during the summer I would eat so many tomatoes that I would develop a perpetual case of canker sores in my mouth. Too much acid from those juicy, ruby red beauties.
As my gardening know how grew, I began experimenting with growing a wide variety of tomatoes. Special heirloom tomatoes are my favorite. I tell people who ask, “Why heirlooms?”…because they taste like the deeply flavored tomatoes of my childhood. This year I’m growing Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, Mr. Stripey and Yellow Pear. Of course I added some sturdy hybrid choices too, like Super Sweet 100 Cherry, Carolina Gold, Better Boy, San Marzano and Celebrity.
But since you didn’t come here to read a long windy about gardening, although that would be easy for me to do… let’s get to how to make this southern favorite, Fresh Tomato Pie.
Fresh Tomato Pie
Ingredients
- 1 deep dish pie crust store bought or homemade, pre baked
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- 4-5 fresh tomatoes sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- If you are like me and want to make your own favorite pie crust, be sure to blind bake the crust at least 2/3rds of the way. Otherwise if using a store bought shell, pre-bake the shell.
- Slice tomatoes 1/2 inch. Place on paper towels. Sprinkle with sea salt. Let rest for at least 15-30 minutes to allow liquid to pull out. Pat tops of tomatoes with additional paper towels to absorb excess moisture.
- In medium skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.
- In small bowl, mix worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise and the cheeses until blended.
- Lay half of the tomatoes in bottom of pie crust shell.
- Top tomatoes with half of the scallions and basil.
- Lay the remaining tomato slices on top.
- Top with remaining scallions and basil.
- Carefully spoon mayo/cheese mixture on top and smooth out to cover tomatoes.
- Sprinkle top with fried bacon pieces.
- Place pie in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.
- Check pie and place aluminum foil around outer edges of pastry if need to prevent it from over browning.
- Turn heat down to 350 degrees and bake for another 10-20 minutes until the top of pie is bubbling.
- Remove pie from oven and let cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- Pre-baking your pie shell is essential. This prevents a soggy bottom. Tomatoes will put off a fair amount of liquid, so prebaking is important.
- Choose any type of your favorite cheeses for this pie. However try to include some mozzarella as it melts very well.
- Feel free to add other sauted veggies that don’t have a lot of excess moisture. Sliced mushrooms, bell peppers or spicy fresh peppers would work too.
- Whatever you add you don’t want the flavor to over power the delicious sweetness that comes from the tomatoes. Tomato should be the STAR of this dish.
- This pie will store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
