Fresh tomatoes in a pie crust somehow just doesn’t sound right does it? Well, if you’ve never tried Tomato Pie, you are in for one more delicious treat. You can use a store bought crust but we’re going to show you how to make your very own homemade pie crust from scratch that just takes this fresh Tomato Pie up to a whole new level. Like me, I’m sure you’ll be wondering where this awesome dish has been all of your life. Try it.
Fresh Tomato Pie Recipe with homemade pie crust:
It’s quick, easy and absolutely delicious. You’ll find the step-by-step instructions below plus a printable recipe at the bottom.
Road Trip: Not far from The Pier at Harris Lake, where I do all of my fishing, there’s a little roadside produce stand with some of the best tomatoes I’ve tasted since I was a kid. They grow them right by their house along with some other fresh produce and I find myself stopping by on a pretty regular basis right now.
About every two months, one of my fishing buddies invites several of us over to his home for a Fish Fry. Billy and his wife Jan are wonderful people that have made me feel right at home over the past year or two that I’ve known them. I give Billy most all of the fish I catch, he takes them home and cleans them, then his wife Jan invites me over to enjoy them. How much better can it be?
On my last visit a couple of days ago, Jan had some sliced tomatoes on a plate for us along with the fish and her other side dishes. I’m not really one for eating tomatoes that aren’t between two slices of bread with some Duke’s Mayonnaise but, I went back for seconds on these. As I told the group, “these are the best tomatoes I’ve tasted since I was a kid.” It’s true, they tasted just like the one’s my mom and dad use to grow and like the one’s WE sold at our own roadside produce stand. When I asked Jan where she got them, she told me they came from this produce stand. It belongs to a family that attends their church and Billy had put me on to it last year so, I knew exactly where it was. I wanted more fresh tomatoes. I knew they would be just perfect for a ‘mater sandwich. ( That’s Southern for Tomato. )
I love roadside produce stands and stop at just about every one that I see. I love this one! As the sign above says, it’s all self service and on the honor system. You pick out your produce, weigh it on the “baby scales” and then drop your money into the locked money box and go on your merry way. The sign leaning up against the tree has all of the prices and a large umbrella covers part of the stand. Cool huh?
The selection was a bit low on this particular day. It was late in the evening when I stopped by and the recent days of 100 plus degree heat and lack of rain has caused some shortages of fresh items from the garden. Still, they had tomatoes and I knew I wanted to try them in my first ever Tomato Pie.
On this day, they had one Watermelon left, some Red Skin Potatoes, Tomatoes, a couple of jars of canned Pickles….and the cooler had some fresh picked cucumbers, squash and a dozen eggs…all on a plastic soda bottle of water that had been frozen and placed inside to keep things cool. Several tomatoes and the fresh eggs went home with me but, I decided I’d wait on the watermelon.
I was told these are a variety known as “Celebrity” Tomatoes. I looked it up and found they are a hybrid tomato but…whatever they are….they ARE delicious. I picked a couple from the right side, third row down, weighed them, dropped the money in the box and headed home.
This is actually the very first Tomato Pie I’ve ever made. And, to the best of my memory, it’s the first Tomato Pie I’ve ever tasted. I don’t recall mama ever making one as I was growing up and don’t remember ever seeing them at the family reunions. Maybe my family just wasn’t hip enough to something with tomatoes in it being called a pie. Pie was suppose to be sweet and for dessert right?
You can make this with a store bought, pre-baked pie crust but I knew I wanted to make my own from scratch if I was going to try one. I hope you’ll try it too and that just like me, you’ll kick yourself wondering where in the world this stuff has been all of your life. It’s just that good.
What does it taste like? Well, I thought it might taste a little like pizza with all the cheese and tomatoes but, what about the pie crust? The pie crust part just wasn’t working with my taste buds in my mind about this. It’s just that Southern thing about pies being for dessert I guess. Not to fear though…it tasted wonderful. I do hope you’ll give it a try and I’ve got all the photos below to show you how to create your own. So, if you’re ready….Let’s Get Cooking!
Tomato Pie Recipe: You’ll need these ingredients.
I highly suggest that you follow my recipe for a Basic Pie Crust and make your own crust from scratch. It’s really easy and you will taste a big difference over those that you purchase at the grocery store. This pie is all about fresh ingredients and making the crust homemade just seemed like the natural thing to do. No, I didn’t make the cheese or the mayo but give me a little more time. I might try making the cheese but that Duke’s Mayonnaise, well, there’s no reason to even try and top that stuff. I’ve got a designated spot in the refrigerator that HAS to have Duke’s Mayo all the time. And no again, they aren’t paying me to say that. I just happen to really like the stuff.
Pre-heat your oven to 350º
Begin the work on the pie by first taking several leaves of fresh Basil and stacking them all together like this.
Roll the leaves up tightly. I was going to say roll them up like you were making a little cigar but I doubt that many of us have ever done that before. At least I haven’t.
Slice the basil.
I opted to use some Spring Onions that I had on hand. I’m sure any variety of onion would work. Just slice and dice them up into small pieces.
Slice up the tomatoes. You can use the tomatoes in slices or….
….you can dice and cube them up like I did.
Whether you decide to just use the sliced tomatoes…or…the diced tomatoes, you’ll need to put them in a colander to drain. You don’t want a bunch of juice to make the pie all soggy.
Place the colander in the sink or over a bowl to catch the juices that will soon be dripping away. Go ahead and sprinkle on some Black Pepper, using it according to your taste preference for pepper.
Then, sprinkle the tomatoes with Salt. The salt will not only be helping the flavor, it will also help pull juice out of the tomatoes. It’s a needed part of the recipe…..getting the juice out that is. Now, set it aside for a few minutes and let it drain.
In a separate bowl, add the grated Cheddar Cheese. I’m using sharp cheddar.
Add in some grated Mozzarella Cheese.
Add in the Duke’s Mayonnaise.
If by any chance you are an “alien” that doesn’t like mayo…don’t worry about this addition. You aren’t going to taste the mayo once the pie has been baked. Of course, for me, it’s hard to imagine that anyone doesn’t like mayo. Maybe we should talk.
Grab a spoon and stir it all together. Stir it a little….stir it a lot…it doesn’t matter….it’s all going to melt together anyway. Just saying.
Stir the tomatoes around a bit to help the juices drain out better.
Lets start assembling our pie. Using a cooled and pre-baked pie crust, toss in the onions and spread them around over the bottom.
Add the chopped basil. OK…so I didn’t get a picture of me adding the chopped basil to the pie. There’s a really good reason for that.
I mean…a really good reason. Like a really, really, really GOOD reason.
They say confession is good for the soul right? Well the reason I don’t have the picture of me adding the basil to the recipe is…well…well….I accidentally somehow…just forgot…to ADD the basil to the recipe. That’s right…whew, I feel better now that I’ve owned up to that. I’m normal OK…I just somehow forgot to actually add the basil. And of course, I purchased one of those little packs of fresh basil JUST for this recipe. On the other hand, I can confidently tell you that THIS recipe is STILL awesome, even WITHOUT adding Basil. Trust me on this one. Let’s move on.
After you’ve drained as much juice from the tomatoes as possible, place them in the pie crust and spread them around evenly.
Gently spread the cheese mixture over the top of the tomatoes. Doesn’t that look good already?
Tomato Juice anyone? Look how much juice came out of these tomatoes. It’s even salted and peppered.
Bake for about 30 minutes at 350º or, until the cheese has slightly browned. Watch it carefully and don’t let it burn.
Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.
Our Tomato Pie will be best served warm. I found however that trying to cut it while warm made it a bit difficult. It was really delicious but…a little messy for presentation. Instead, let the pie cool completely and then place it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. It will setup nicely after this time and it will be much easier to slice…and prettier. Place a slice on a plate or serving dish and then pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. You could also slice it and slip the dishes back in the oven for a few minutes to warm back up. Just don’t heat it too much or it will turn all soft and runny on you again.
I’ve also placed a couple of slices in the freezer. After letting them thaw completely, just a quick trip in the microwave and you can enjoy a slice of Tomato Pie any old time you want one.
Enjoy!!!
