RECIPES: Tomato Pie

Tomato Pie

TOMATOES ARE WONDERFUL ON THEIR OWN, BUT A LITTLE CHEESE AND MAYO NEVER HURT ANYTHING IN THE SOUTH.

Recipe and photo by Alexandra Kennon

Ingredients:

Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust (I like the ones in the red box, but you can make your own, if you’re fancy.)

1/4 cup mayonnaise (I prefer Duke’s, but I know most Southerners have a strong preference, so use yours).

1/4 cup Creole or Dijon mustard

3 large or 4 small Creole tomato(es)

A few leaves of fresh basil, torn

4-ish cloves of garlic, minced

Approximately half a cup grated Gruyere or fontina cheese

Approximately half a cup grated cheddar cheese

Approximately a quarter cup grated parmesan, Romano, or other hard, salty Italian cheese

Any other cheese you have around that seems like a good fit (because, cheese).

Seasoning (salt and pepper of course, but I like to use some Italian seasonings like oregano, and crushed red pepper, too. Season to your liking, I know you will anyway.)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place pie crust into pie pan, crimping edges with a fork. Poke holes in a few places in the bottom of the crust to vent.

3. Pre-bake crust for around 8–10 minutes, or until light golden (will bake more later).

4. Slice tomatoes to 1/4–1/2 inch thickness and lay out on a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Lightly salt them, cover with another layer of paper towels, and let them sit around 10 minutes.

5. Mix your mayo, mustard, shredded cheeses (reserving the hard cheese for the top), garlic, and seasonings together in a bowl.

6. Spread a layer of the cheese mixture along the bottom of the pre-baked pie crust.

7. Top with a layer of tomatoes, and some pieces of torn basil.

8. Top that with more cheese mixture.

9. Repeat steps 7 and 8.

10. Place your last remaining tomato slices and basil on top (I try to save the “pretty” slices for this).

11. Sprinkle with parmesan or other Italian cheese.

12. Sprinkle with seasoning.

13. Cover loosely with foil, and bake for 25–35 minutes until cheese is melted and crust is deep golden brown.

Alexandra Kennon