I love tomatoes but somehow until yesterday, I had never eaten tomato pie. We gathered a ton of tomatoes from the garden this week so I pretty much had to make a tomato pie. As I drove to the grocery store, I had this overwhelming feeling of guilt because I had written “9-inch deep dish pie crust” on my list. I always make my own crusts and apparently, my brain did not want to live with the guilt and allowed me to completely forget to buy one. So, I had to make one and it was easy and turned out great. I had a little extra dough so I made a mini pie in a ramekin. Eat this hot or cold. Top with Tabasco, or red pepper flakes for extra spice. Serve at brunch or with a salad for dinner or eat if for lunch or breakfast. I looked at a lot of recipes. Tomato pies come in all forms and variations, recipes calling for basil or onions or garlic or no cheese. I ended modifying one from Eclectic Everyday.

Ingredients For One 9-Inch Deep Dish Pie

• 2 Medium Tomatoes (Thinly Sliced, Drained)
• 1 Cup Mayonnaise
• 1 Cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 Tablespoon Dried Italian Herbs
• Salt and Pepper

Directions

If you are using a store bought pie crust bake at recommended time on package after draining and salting tomato slices. If recommended temperature for store bought crust is not 350°, bake pie crust and then set oven temperature to 350°.

1. Thinly slice tomatoes, place each slice on two paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Place another paper towel on top of the tomatoes and periodically press them to get the juice out.*
2. Preheat oven to 350°.
3. Prepare pie crust and bake. Click here for the pie crust recipe.
4. Remove pie crust from oven and allow to cool for a five minutes.
5. Arrange first layer of sliced tomatoes in a circle.
6. Sprinkle with a dash of pepper and Italian seasoning.
7. Arrange second layer of sliced tomatoes.
8. Sprinkle with a dash of pepper and Italian seasoning.
9. Combine mayonnaise and cheddar cheese in a bowl. Mix well with rubber spatula and carefully spread over tomatoes, leaving a 1-inch gap in between mayo and the edge of the pie.
10. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top
11. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is golden.
12. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.**

*You need to make sure your tomatoes are not too juicy or your crust will get soggy. I allowed my tomatoes to drain the entire time I made, baked, and refrigerated my crust (about an hour).
**I allowed my 9-inch pie to cool completely, topped with plastic wrap, and placed in the refrigerator overnight.

If you use ramekins, place on baking sheet and bake in oven for the same amount of time. With this pie crust and filling recipe, I think you could make six mini-pies in standard round ramekins.

 

Here is a slice of cold pie, which by the way, was a delicious breakfast. I reheated a piece in the microwave which was also tasty but for the best texture, I suggest reheating slices in an oven.