Recipe: Tomato Pie, both varieties

Heirloom Tomatoes ripen on my kitchen windowsill.2009.

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Until this year, I had no clue what Tomato Pie was. I’d never heard of it until NPR announced their recipe winner (below). And now, I can’t stop hearing about it.

Heirloom Tomatoes at the Lake Anne Farmers Market in Reston, Va 2008.

There are two kids of Tomato Pie–one is very much a pie, similar to pot pies and other savory pies, the other is a cousin to Sicilian Pizza–not so much a “pie” as we consider them in the U.S. Unless you are one of those folks who calls pizza “A Peet-za Pi-ie”…in which case all I can do is roll my eyes and shake my head in disapproval.

So below are a couple takes on the different variations of Tomato Pie, both pizza-ish and pastry-ish.

First up is a savory pie; the kind of pie I think of when I use that word. It is double crust goodness from home ec 101. Please click this link to get the LOVELY photos the creator posted to go along with this recipe.

Double Crust Tomato, Onion, and Bacon Pie

• 1 recipe pie crust (9″ pie) – feel free to cheat and use refrigerated if you’re in a hurry
• 4 very ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 medium onion
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese
• 3 slices bacon crumbled
• 3 TBSP mayonnaise* (use real mayo or it’ll be watery)
• 1 tsp dried basil divided
• salt/pepper to taste

*Edited 7/19/2009* I recently learned that cream cheese may be substituted for mayonnaise.

Core each tomato. This is simply a matter of removing the hard area around the stem. Cut each tomato in half through the equator. Use your finger to scoop the seeds out and into the trash or sink. Then slice each tomato. Place the sliced tomatoes in a colander over a large bowl or the sink, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Allow this to sit while preparing the other ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 425F. Slice the onion very thinly. No, thinner. No, thinner still, we want the Calista Flockhart of onions.

In a bowl combine the cheese, bacon, and 3TBSP mayo. Mix thoroughly.

Carefully lay the bottom pie crust in a 9″ pie plate. Arrange a layer of tomatoes, sprinkle with half the sliced onion and 1/2 tsp dried basil.

Repeat the first layer with the remaining tomatoes, onion, and basil.

Top with cheese mixture. Add the second crust, seal the edges, and cut slits in the top.

Bake for 45 minutes, checking after 30. Use the foil trick from the pie crust recipe to protect the edges of the crust.

Allow the pie to cool for 10 minutes (at least) on a wire rack. If you can wait longer to slice the pie, the cheese won’t be as runny.

We look at each other and say, but we LIKE the cheese to be runny.

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Heirloom Tomatoes from my garden, ripening on my kitchen windowsill so the squirrel doesn't get them. 2009.

Fresh Tomato Pie is from allrecipes.com

Next up is another Tomato Pie of the Pastry variety; I would highly suggest making a few tiny tweaks to the recipe:

1) saute the onions before adding them 2) make your own pie crust. Store bought pie shells for savory pies kind of make me want to hurt someone. 3) for a little more depth of flavor, add some cooked bacon (when doesn’t bacon make something better?) and saute the onions in the bacon fat before adding them…4) add in a clove or two of garlic, mashed. Saute that in the bacon grease with the onions, too…5) Add in some Ramono Cheese for depth of flavor. 6) add in a tiny bit of kosher salt or sea salt, to taste

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (9 inch) pie shell
• 7 ripe tomatoes, sliced
• 1 yellow onion
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bake the pastry shell for 8 to 10 minutes or until browned.
3. Slice onion and place in the bottom of pastry shell. Slice tomatoes and arrange over onions. Add black pepper to taste.
4. In a medium bowl, combine mozzarella, parmesan and mayonnaise. Spread this mixture evenly over tomatoes.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Once cooked, garnish with fresh herbs.

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This is an image of a homemade tomato pizza...I'm running out of tomato images, sorry.

Tomato Pie II from allrecipes.com

I think I like this recipe better than the previous one because it already includes bacon and a garlic element AND it uses green onions and way less mayo. But, apply what I said about the store-bought pie crusts here, too…yuck!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
• 4 large tomatoes, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 pound bacon – cooked, drained, and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In alternating layers, fill pastry shell with tomatoes, basil, scallions, bacon, garlic powder, oregano, and red pepper. In a small bowl, mix cheese with mayonnaise. Spread mixture over top of pie. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil from top of pie and bake an additional 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

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Green tomatoes growing in my front-yard garden...hopefully I get them befor the squirrel...

Next up is a step in the direction of the Sicilian Pizza type of Tomato Pie, but instead of making Foccacia Bread, it uses…bisquick. Easier, maybe…I haven’t tried this recipe, but it won at the Indiana State Fair, so I assume it has to be good.

Tomato pie recipe

Tomato Pie by Janice Bosma
1st Place, Marion County

Ingredients:

3 c. All Purpose Baking Mix
½ c. milk
½ c. flour
½ of 1 lb roll of Italian Pork Sausage, browned
1 6 oz can Red Gold tomato paste
1 14.5 Red Gold diced tomatoes with Basil, Garlic, and Oregano (drained)
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
½ medium onion sliced thin
1 firm tomato, quartered and sliced thin
½ t. red pepper flakes
½ t. basil 1 t. oregano
½ t. ground fennel Olive oil

Instructions:

Prepare baking mix with milk according to directions. Knead briefly with ½ cup flour on board. Press into large, lightly greased pie plate to form crust and bake in 350 degrees, preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Spread the can tomato paste over the crust evenly. Add browned sausage and sprinkle with ½ t. basil and ½ t Red Pepper flakes. Layer 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1 can diced tomatoes drained, the sliced onion and tomato. Sprinkle with ½ t. oregano. Grind a bit of fennel seed over top and drizzle virgin olive oil over all. Continue baking at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes until crust is lightly browned.

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Heirloom Tomatoes for sale at the Lake Anne Farmers Market in 2008.

NPR’s Winning Tomato Pie

This one is still a bisquick recipe, but it is getting closer, I think, to Sicilian Pizza…This is the winner from the “How Low Can You Go” recipe contest NPR held earlier this year. This recipe is by Kathy Lloyd, from Pittsfield, Mass. Out of more than 300 entries from professional chefs and home cooks, this one came out victorious for being both affordable AND yummy. I think that says a lot. There was quite a bit of broohaha surrounding her win, many seemed to think it wasn’t nutritious or a “good example” for affordable dinners…whatever. The contest wasn’t about health or being an example, it was about taste and cost. That is it.

According to NPR, this recipe was Lloyd’s, ” favorite recipe growing up — and the dish she asked for on her birthday.”

I have yet to try it, but I’m thinking I’ll make up some of my homemade baking mix (faux bisquick) and make this up soon…

INGREDIENTS

Bisquick–one recipe for biscuits

1Sweet onion

2lbs fresh tomatoes

Fresh cracked pepper

Kosher or Sea Salt

Fresh Basil

2 cups shredded cheddar

1 cup mayo

DIRECTIONS:

Make 1 biscuit recipe from the Bisquick boxUse as a pie crust and bake it. Place either ceramic baking beads or another pie plate on top of it to keep it from rising out of control. Layer in the pie crust (really high) the sweet onions sliced pretty thin (generally 1 big one) and the garden fresh tomatoes not too thin (about 2 lbs). Season each layer of tomatoes with salt, fresh cracked pepper and fresh basil. Make a top crust with 2 cups shredded cheddar and 1 cup mayo. Mix the cheese and mayo with your hands and squish it all over the pie like a top crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. On the crust, I used half goat cheese, half mayo, but you have to have the mayo to make the crust.

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These tomatoes are now ripening on my kitchen windowsill...

Finally, want to make a Tomato Pie the Sicilian Pizza-type way?. According to Wikipedia, this is kind of Tomato Pie is supposed to be made on focaccia bread, so, follow any of the above recipes, but instead of using a pie crust, use a good focaccia bread recipe, like this or, for a little more flavor, try an herb-infused focaccia bread recipe, like this one.