A couple of years ago Jean Elizabeth sent me the recipe for Tomato Pie from Southern Living. I’ve wanted to make it from the moment I read it, but never got around to it till last week.
The recipe was worth the wait even though it took me most of the day to put it together.
You can see and print the original recipe here. Southern Living suggests making a Parmesan buttermilk pie crust. I’m sure it is delicious, but I made my usual pie crust to save a little time.
For the filling you’ll need:
- 3 lbs. assorted medium to large heirloom tomatoes
- 1 tsp. kosher salt, divided
- 6 thick-cut bacon slices, diced (I used regular bacon)
- 2 large shallots, chopped (I used onion)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (2 tsp.)
- 6 oz. aged extra-sharp white Cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 large egg
- Fresh basil leaves
- Minced fresh chives
You’ll need a blind baked pie shell to hold the tomato pie. And the recipe calls for pepper in the directions but didn’t list it in the ingredients.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut tomatoes into ½-inch-thick slices. Place about 7 or 8 slices (enough to cover top of pie) on a baking sheet lined with paper towels, and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Cover with additional paper towels, and reserve.
Arrange remaining tomatoes in a single layer on a lightly greased wire rack set on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of the salt. Bake in preheated oven until wilted and slightly dried out, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
Cook bacon in a skillet over medium-high until fat is beginning to render, 4 to 5 minutes. Add chopped shallots, and cook until bacon is crisp and shallots are caramelized, 6 to 7 more minutes. Stir in garlic; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon mixture to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Cool 20 minutes.
Stir together cheese, mayonnaise, basil, chives, Dijon, and egg until combined. Sprinkle with pepper and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Fold in bacon mixture.
Gently spread a third of cheese mixture onto cooled crust; layer with half of the roasted tomato slices in slightly overlapping pattern.
Spread another third of cheese mixture on top of tomato slices. Repeat with remaining roasted tomato slices and cheese mixture. Top with reserved sliced fresh tomatoes, pressing filling gently into crust. If the crust begins to brown too quickly you might need to cover it with foil, but I didn’t need to in my oven.
Bake in preheated oven until filling is set, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let stand 1 hour before serving. Sprinkle with basil and chives.
The tomato pie was a hit with everyone!
Last night’s video: Matt Got Monkey-ed || Finally Digging Our Potatoes.
Tipper
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i made this! it’s very good but i’m still freaked out at the thought of all that mayo. next time i’ll try 1/4 cup and two eggs, see how that does. living in a city had to buy roma tomatoes from amazon fresh, and i did a tipper with the assembly, as you can see in my online journal entry:
https://www.facebook.com/elithea.whittaker/posts/pfbid0whk2wgAPorVqjeoUmG4DD6aBw8nbx6F5XS966G5KWXfZndj5oGz1Yg4TFE29Fa3Pl
Thanks for the recipe for this. Many years ago there was a little shop on the street on my way to work at the library. The lady there made and sold these pies. I had never had one before, but I became a big fan of them. Unfortunately for me, she moved on to open up an Italian restaurant and stopped making tomato pies. Actually, it was probably good for me, they were quite expensive, as you can imagine, and had lots of calories. Now, I can make one every now and then.
Hi Tipper and Acorns. We love tomato pie. I think it tastes like Lasagna. I add cornstarch to the tomatoes in case they are juicy. I think Roma tomatoes from the store do well. I also use canned tomatoes and make a cobbler with a cheese biscuit crust.
I adore tomato pie. This recipe is rather involved, but I am sure it is delicious. I use a simple one and we make it all summer: houseofnasheats.com/southern-tomato-pie/. It is super easy and we love it. Be sure to salt and drain the tomatoes prior to assembling your pie to remove excess juice. Prayers for Kim, Meg and her baby, and all Acorns who are in need today. Weather is promising more fall like temperatures lather this week to go with autumn equinox.
I’ve never made one of these but I grew up eating tomato pie and it’s a completely different animal. Tomato pie in Utica, NY is somewhat similar to pizza. It’s all about the sauce, served room temp and only grated cheeses. https://www.whatscookinitalianstylecuisine.com/2009/11/tomato-pie-recipe-upstate-new-york.html?fbclid=IwdGRleAUeVC1wZG9mBWZkaWQWUO2GG9GYxJsP82qOeaT_OlulasHMX2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzE3Mzg0NzY0MjY3MDM3MAABHlEjqRm0AtemA8zWbxvyt084cFZ7AniA1k1gZnCTrX2_M7hm–iBFm53AaU9_aem_OkDR6hOIcNvvmZlw1PpYoQ
Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing with us, Tipper! I think you’d enjoy this Tomato and Corn pie from Smitten Kitchen too. https://smittenkitchen.com/2009/08/tomato-and-corn-pie/
Have a blessed day, Acorns!
Looks delicious!
I’ve never made one, nor have I ever ate one before, but it sure does look tasty!
Tipper – it does sound good but too time consuming to make very often but more for special occasions. My husband used to like when I would layer sliced tomatoes, sliced zucchini and sliced lightly sautéed onions, season to taste with just salt and pepper and any herbs of choice, then grate cheese of choice over top and bake at about 350 * for about 30-40 minutes, or until veggies are done and cheese nicely browned.
Morning everyone. I have made tomato pies before, but they are too soggy. My tomatoes must be too juicy. Drying them out would make sense. I too would also make a regular crust. Too many ingredients for one pie. I bet it is good though. I hope everyone is cooling off. I think we’ll only be 90 degrees today. Anna from Arkansas.
There are simpler tomato pie recipes out there yet this one sounds very, very good. I’m certain it was a big hit-it’s got a lot in common with pizza and everybody likes pizza-some prefer lots of toppings and some prefer just one or two. I think the tomato pie you made is very pretty, Tipper, with the yellow and red tomato slices. It’s just a beautiful presentation. I hope and pray everybody has a good day in good health. Blessings to everybody!
Looks so good
I recently ate a tomato pie at one of our nicer restaurants & it was good, but probably won’t order it again. It was ok, but not a favorite of mine. Perhaps it was the way the restaurant made it. I may try your recipe & see if I like it better, but I have gotten so lazy in my old age, I don’t like to put much effort into cooking any longer. Living by myself now, I eat out mostly. Hope everyone has a good day today!
Sounds delicious!
After all the work, it had better taste good, that’s all I can say.
Oh yikes!!! As I was reading this I was starting to worry about my mental state because I have gathered the things to make what I observed you making on a video I watched last week and it was sooooo simple and you were using the Tommy toes that are still persistently giving us fruit! Then, I remembered that you called it, I believe, a tomato tart?? I think I’ll still proceed with the simpler version even though this looks mighty tasty. I headed for labwork in an hour for chemo treatment tomorrow if my wbc is high enough. Prayers would be greatly appreciated. Only 62° here this morning in west central IL. Cooler temps & fall officially starting tomorrow sounds wonderful to me!
I will keep praying!
Tomato pie is my favorite. But I have never had it with bacon in it.
Beautiful and delicious! It looks like late summer in a tart.
I will have to remember to use the recipe one day when we have more tomatoes. This year we have had so few. But we have had so much rain that it is a balance I guess. Our cow has great pasture even this time of year when we usually have nothing but dry dead grass by now.
No baby yet, just taking it as easy as I can and still manage things. Some of my children have come before their due date and some well after, so I don’t have much clue which it will be this time. Reading what you all write here and writing to you has been a great enjoyment to me in this time of inactivity. Thank you for this gathering of good hearted people, Lord. Please bless and keep each one.
This tomato pie sounds delicious, but I really want to make your recipe for a tomato tart first. Going to the grocery store today!
The pie looks delicious. If I ever get some tomatoes to grow in my garden without the deer eating them up, I’d like to try the recipe.
Tricia, tomatoes are about the only thing I can keep deer from eating. My trick is to put the plants inside cages I made from 5 ft tall cement reinforcement wire. These cages you buy in garden centers will not keep the deer from eating them.
Since I commented, I will say this, over the years I have tried eating tomato pies made from different people and different recipes and have yet to find one I liked. There was a restaurant in my area that claimed customers came from near and far to eat their tomato pies. I was not one of their customers! I think this restaurant has now changed ownership.
I made this exact same pie a couple of months ago. Yes, it was very good. I doubt I’ll make it again. It took me all day as well to make it.