I’ve heard some people use the phrase “tomato pie” to talk about pizza. Makes sense, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. This is a pie crust filled with tomatoes, the way you’d do an apple pie. But it’s got a topping sort of like a quiche. And you won’t believe what it’s made of.
Ingredients
9-inch pre-baked pie crust
4-5 large tomatoes
6 green onions
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup mayonnaise (yes, home-made if you can)
basil
salt and pepper
Directions
While the crusts are baking, core and slice the tomatoes, then season with salt and pepper. (Lou already had this step done before I showed up to take the pictures.)
Chop the green onions, sticking mostly to the lighter end.
Mix a little bit of the cheese into the mayonnaise.
Arrange the tomatoes in the crust so they come almost to the top.
Top with the onion, and enough basil to just cover the pie.
Add the mayo, and spread evenly. The tomatoes should be mostly covered. If they’re not, add a little more mayo, but you don’t want it really thick.
Top with the cheese.
Once you decide to make one of these, might as well make a second. It won’t take much longer than just doing the one.
Bake at 350° until the cheese is melted and bubbling, 15-20 minutes.
The mayo ends up the consistency of scrambled eggs. I was totally surprised by that. It gives me ideas for several other things I want to try.
Serve with a little Italian sausage.
And that’s it.
Want more like this? For more recipes like this, that you can hold right in your hands, and write on, take notes, tear pages out if you want (Gosh, you're tough on books, aren't you?) you might be interested in How To Cook Like Your Grandmother, 2nd edition, Illustrated. Or to learn your way around the kitchen, check out Starting From Scratch: The Owner's Manual for Your Kitchen.
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20 Comments
I am so glad I discovered your blog. I've got to admit, i've never had tomato pie but this looks so yummy — certainly "a must try" on my to-do recipe list. Makes me hungry all over again and the worst part, it's past my bedtime….LOL
I learned how to make this over the summer from my southern cousin. Fresh basil makes ALL the difference. She mixes her mayo with sour cream and I think it cuts down on that tang mayo has. Last time I made it, I used homemade creme freche – It's worth a try, especially if you're not big on mayo. It's good to see that someone else has (essentially) the same recipe.
I made something like this with corn and tomatoes, but not as much mayo. It was GOOD. And quick, too!
GreenGirl, that's why I never read food blogs late at night.
r, if I had the fresh basil I'd have definitely used that. But I'm still working through the frozen pesto from two years ago, the last time I grew it.
Melissa, corn sounds good. And maybe garbanzo beans. Hmm, lots of possibilities.
mayo is SUCH a great shortcut for eggs/fat in a recipe! since it is already eggs and um oil.
this looks delicious!! i have a question though – i don't like how it gets all runny! if you seed the insides of the tomatoes first, do you lose the flavor?
also your mention of pesto here in the comments makes me think – this would be FANTASTIC with pesto added! and maybe swap half the tomatoes for zucchini
we are all changing your recipe lol
"we are all changing your recipe lol"
Kate, that's what is so great about Grandmother's recipes, haha. They're all essentially the same but with little tweaks to make everyone's just a tad bit different. All great, all unique.
Also, I've even seeded the tomatoes and limited the amount of mayo/sour cream and it was still super runny. Tomato pie is just runny…
Would it be permitable to add chunked sausage to the pie itself instead of on the side? Perhaps some bacon or ham cubes? This looks like something I'd really like to make to use leftovers in my lunch, but I was wondering if it would add too much liquid. I've been eating kindergarden food lately (I am an english teacher for 4-17 year old children) and I'm seriously considering bringing my lunch every day.
A few people have already noticed this recipe can easily go a thousand different ways. You can put just about anything in it, as long as it will hold together well enough to serve a slice without having it all fall apart. So peas probably wouldn't work so well. Anything else should be good.
The only hesitation I'd have about using sausage is how greasy it is. As long as it's pre-cooked and well drained it would work. Same with bacon bits. But anything that gives up a lot of oil would do bad things to the crust.
Oh, and Kate? Do they need any more English teachers?
Drew, to reduce the liquid content, how about "salting" and draining the tomatoes before using them.
Since Slat is the magic answer to taste, perhaps this would be a good thing also?
That looks so good I will have to try it. I make something 'kinda' like it. Just put tomatoes into greased pie pan, diced green onions, and cooked crumbled bacon – then top with a bisquick milk mixture. :3) If the sender indicates that the item was shipped (and has no tracking information) you will need to formally report your "Item Not Received". To do this go to the "my trades" section of Swaptree, and under the image of the item you have not yet received, below where we show you your trade partner's user name and rating, click on the link "contact this user".
On the next page you will see the link "formally report this missing item to swaptree". Click on this link and fill in the appropriate information. Like those impossiable pie Bisquck recipes. You're look even better! SO glad that you're back guy!!!
Whoa! I think Carole cut and pasted into the wrong window. And thanks, glad to be back.
Well, in my area (Modena/Bologna/Ferrara/Verona radius) they are BEGGING for mother tongue English speakers. If you have ANY teaching experience AT ALL (even giving cooking classes or tutoring) will give you almost an automatic in. I also would like to mention that if you're interested, coffee bars and small restaurants do VERY well here. VERY VERY well. An American Style gimmick would make you quite a bit of money.
And I fixed Tomato Pie for supper last night with cut up chicken breast and Provolone Cheese. I ate the leftovers for lunch today, cold. It was AWESOME. Any more recipes good for lunches?
Kate, please email me at drew@cooklikeyourgrandmother.com
Oh, Drew, I cooked this tonight and it was so SO yummy. (And frankly, I don't even like tomatoes.) We have fresh tomatoes still coming and there are only so many BLTs I can eat. Plus we had the italian sausage patties already done to go with! It was fantastic. And I would certainly not call it runny, but maybe a little "sloppy"?
I think I will be trying some bacon though; I figure between the mayo and cheese should work. (We get free bacon so we have to work our way through it *somehow*!)
Thanks for your great work, once again! -christina
Did you say … free … bacon?
[weep]
I forgot to ask…do you see any way to make this with anything but fresh tomatoes? (Frozen, canned, other?) I can't imagine, but you're the expert. I would just rather be able to make it more than during the short tomato season.
thanks, christina
Laurie Colwin's recipe calls for a double biscuit-dough crust, with steam vents cut in the top. The wonderful thing about tomato pie is that it's so forgiving — it would be extremely hard to screw it up.
Christina, a few people already mentioned this can be kind of runny even with fresh tomatoes. All the canned ones I've seen have added tomato juice or sauce. I would think you could do it, but it would be even runnier than this already is.
Propagatrix, don't say that. It's like someone giving me directions that end with, "You can't miss it." I think some part of my subconscious says, "Oh, you don't think so, huh?"
Wow, I've never heard of this before. It sounds amazing, even if I'm not big on tomato-based dishes. I'll have to try it this weekend
It turned out amazing! Thanks for the recipe! http://kyrieeleison2008.blogspot.com/2009/10/birthday-plans-and-tomato-pie.html