Tomato Pie

One of my best friends was having a shindig last weekend.

We all pitch in and bring grub whenever we hang out.  Which amounts to a feast of unimaginable proportions.  Since we are all foodies at heart, there is never a bad dish on the table.

I told my besties that I was bringing a tomato pie to the party (along with some grass-fed beef and other fresh garden goodies).

They responded,

“Tomato Pie?  What’s a tomato pie?  Is it a dessert?  Is it a salad?  A side?  A food….. “

They had NEVER had a tomato pie.

What??!!

How have these ladies known me for most of my life & never eaten a tomato pie?

If you are like my besties and have never eaten a tomato pie – you need to taste this.  It’s amazing.

It is one of my favorite side dishes.

It is one of my favorite ways to eat fresh tomatoes.

To answer their questions I responded,

“It’s a side dish!  A creamy, savory, delicious, side dish.  It has a flakey, buttery crust, piles of vine-riped tomatoes, fresh basil, creamy cheesy filling and a buttery, cracker-crumb topping.  It’s the bomb.”

You can prepare each “layer” of this pie in advance.  30 mintues before it’s time to eat you can pile everything into the pie pan and shove it in the oven.  That’s what I do.  You’re other option is to make it, assemble it, bake it and eat it now.  Which is always a good idea.  

What I’m sayin’ is that this guy won’t travel well if it’s preassembled.  You could will end up with a soggy, doughy crust instead of a flakey crispy crust.

Moral:  If you are taking this to a friends house or potluck – assemble it right before it goes in the oven.  🙂

First, you need a pie crust.  Because I’m a freak about my food, I make all my pie crusts.  Mine include wonderful, healthy things like:  fresh milled flour, raw butter (from my cow) and fresh eggs from chickens (not stores)…..

If you aren’t as freaky as me, you can buy a pie crust – but it wont be as good or as good for you as this one.  Here’s the recipe if you feel like making pie crust.  The nice thing about my pie crust recipe is you’ll end up with 3 or more crusts & you can freeze the others (or you could make some pumpkin pies too).

Arrange your pie crust in the pie pan & bake it at 425 degrees for 10 mintues.

It should be barely turning brown when it comes out.

Peel and slice a bunch of tomatoes.  I am using about 6 tomatoes.

Begin piling the tomatoes into the pre-baked pie crust.

Chop some fresh basil.

Sprinkle the basil on top of the tomatoes.

Now let’s make the luscious, cheese-y filling!

In a small bowl combine:

• 1/2 C Mayo
• 1/2 C Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• 1/8 Tsp Garlic Salt
• 1/4 Tsp Pepper

Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the tomatoes and basil.

Next we need to make the crumb topping.  If you are a normal person, you can just grab a box of crackers from your pantry…. Ritz, Town House, Keebler, any cracker will do.

If you are abnormal – you can make some homemade crackers and throw a handful of them in a food processor thingy…

Mash, crumble, or process them until they are no longer crackers.  You want 1/2 cup of cracker crumbs.

Now, go melt 2 Tbsp butter.

Stir the butter & cracker crumbs together… 
And evenly sprinkle them all over the top of your tomato pie.  This is getting good, people!

Time to bake!  Preheat oven to 425 degrees & bake 20-30 mintues (until done).  

When it’s done it will look like this!!!!!!!!!!!!  Cheese-y, crispy, flakey, amazing – Tomato Pie

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Enjoy!

-Candi

Print Recipe

Tomato Pie

A creamy, savory, delicious, side dish. It has a flakey, buttery crust, piles of vine-riped tomatoes, fresh basil, creamy cheesy filling and a buttery, cracker-crumb topping. It's the bomb.

Course

Side Dish

Cuisine

Italian, veggies

Servings

people

Ingredients

• 9 inch pie crust prebaked 10 minutes at 425 degrees
• 6 tomatoes (peeled, sliced)
• Handful basil fresh - chopped
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
• 1/8 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup crackers crushed
• 2 tbsp butter

Course Side Dish Cuisine Italian, veggies Servings people Ingredients 9 inch pie crust prebaked 10 minutes at 425 degrees 6 tomatoes (peeled, sliced) Handful basil fresh - chopped 1/2 cup mayo 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded 1/8 tsp garlic salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1/2 cup crackers crushed 2 tbsp butter

Recipe Notes

Arrange the (peeled, sliced) tomatoes in the pre-baked pie crust.  Sprinkle the chopped basil on top of the tomatoes.

In a small bowl combine:  Mayo, Shredded Parmesan Cheese, Garlic Salt & Pepper.  Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the tomatoes and basil.

Melt Butter & add cracker crumbs - stir.  Sprinkle butter/ cracker crumb mixture on top of pie.

Bake 425 degrees 20-30 minutes (until done).

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