Homegrown Tomato Pie
When summer’s ripe tomatoes come into season, I love to bake tomato pie.
Piled into a pie crust and topped with seasonings and cheese, tomato pie is the perfect appetizer, lunch, or dinner. It is today’s new quiche, a vibrantly flavored and colored one-pan meal. And just by doing something a simple a changing up the type of tomatoes, changes the look and feel of the pie.
For making the perfect tomato pie, first use the best tomatoes you can find. Use fresh basil, and if you love bacon, by all means, add it. This is a blueprint recipe I have used through the years, so feel free to change it up depending on what’s in your garden and pantry.
And just because it’s called a tomato pie, doesn’t mean you can make this recipe into smaller tarts or larger sheet pan pies. It’s super versatile, involving just a crust, tomato slices, filling, and your imagination!
HOMEGROWN TOMATO PIE RECIPE:
Makes: 6 to 8 servings | Prep: 25 minutes | Bake: 50 to 55 minutes
3 medium-size ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut into 15 to 16 slices
Kosher salt
1 pie crust (9 inches), thawed if frozen
1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
Dash cayenne pepper
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place the tomato slices on a baking rack placed over a sheet pan. Lightly salt the tomatoes and let them sit until they give up some of their juice, about 15 minutes.
Prick the bottom and sides of the pie crust with a fork a few times. Bake the crust until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Let the crust cool for about 15 minutes. Leave the oven on.
Pat the tomato slices dry with paper towels. When the crust has cooled, arrange half of the tomato slices in the bottom. Scatter half of the basil and green onions over them. Add the rest of the tomato slices and top with the remaining basil and green onions.
Combine the mozzarella and Cheddar, mayonnaise, and cayenne in a small bowl. Spoon this mixture over the tomatoes and spread it out as evenly as you can.
Bake the tomato pie until the crust has lightly browned, 30 to 35 minutes. Tent the top with a piece of foil to prevent overbrowning. Continue baking until the filling firms up, 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let cool 20 minutes before slicing.