Tomato Pie, a quintessential southern summer dish! The first time that I had Tomato Pie was one summer when Brett’s grandmother made one for a Sunday evening dinner out here on The FARM. The city girl in me was skeptical at first. She used freshly grown tomatoes from her garden and it was to die for! And that’s the key to a great tomato pie – fresh, firm tomatoes! If the tomatoes are too soft, it will make the pie soggy. We recommend locally grown tomatoes that you can get at a farmers market or a local farm. It might be a little early in the season for fresh tomatoes, so you may need to keep this recipe on hand and give it a whirl a few weeks from now.
This is a pretty simple recipe with not a lot of fuss. If you want to make your own pie-crust you certainly can. But the store-bought one will do the trick (plus, no one but you and me will know the difference!). If you use storebought, double up the crust. You want a thick, firm base for this pie.
Ingredients:
- Pie Crust (we like Pillsbury refrigerated that comes in a 2-pack)
- 6 – 8 tomatoes
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- 1/4 tsp of garlic powder
- Fresh Basil
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese (Brett’s grandmother’s recipe doesn’t have a measurement so I just buy an 8oz bag)
- 1/2 cup of homemade mayonnaise
Instructions:
- Follow the instructions on the box for pre-baking the pie shell (remember to double-up your pie shell for thickness)
- Place a paper towel on a baking sheet, slice the tomatoes (about 1/4 inch thick), arrange in a single layer and sprinkle with salt. Place another paper towel on top and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine cheese, mayo, basil, salt, pepper and garlic powder together
- Place a single layer of tomatoes on the bottom of the pie shell, cover with half of the cheese mixture, and repeat
- Use the remainder of the tomatoes to layer on the top of the last cheese mixture layer
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes