Tomato Pie

If you need one last summery recipe before you switch to fall crops, this is your recipe!  Tomato Pie.  I had never heard of it until I read Simply Recipes blog, supposedly it's a Southern thing and the reason why I hadn't heard of it!  I had some fresh tomatoes that needed to be used up and this recipe sure did the trick.  I didn't attempt to make my own crust, but I can report that Dover Natural Foods has a great 2-pack of frozen all natural pie crusts for sale!  This recipe also calls for mayonnaise so if you're looking for a soy-free mayo, I highly suggest Hain Safflower Mayonnaise.  Don't knock this recipe till you try it!

Tomato Pie
adapted from Simply Recipes


Ingredients

• 1 9-inch pie shell
• 1/2 yellow, chopped
• 3-4 tomatoes, cut in half horizontally, squeezed to remove excess juice, roughly chopped, to yield approximately 3 cups chopped tomatoes (squeeze well!  Even using my ricer I still had a little too much liquid in the pie.)
• Sprinkle of basil, to taste
• 2 cups grated cheese (combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, or Gruyere or Mozzarella)
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pie shell in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or longer until lightly golden. If you are starting with a frozen crust, you'll need to cook it a little longer. If you are using a homemade crust, freeze the crust first, then line the crust with aluminum foil and pre-bake it for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.
2. Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, using either paper towels, a clean dish towel, or a potato ricer.
3. Sprinkle the bottom of the pre-cooked pie shell with chopped onion. Spread the chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the basil over the tomatoes.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper. The mixture should be the consistency of a gooey snow ball. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes.
5. Place in oven and bake until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes.  Serves 6. 

Hope you enjoy this summery delight as much as we did!