Tomato Pie

One thing you need to know about me foodwise is that I don't like raw tomatoes. I do like pasta sauce and salsa, so it depends on the way the tomato is prepared. Even though I don't care for tomatoes, I loved this tomato pie so much I went back for seconds. The cheesy top and the crisp crust brought so much flavor to the tomatoes and made them taste amazing. This can be served at breakfast, lunch, or dinner and everyone will be very happy with the choice. 

Tomato Pie

For this recipe, you can either buy a pie shell or make your own. This whole recipe comes from Simply Recipes.

Pie Shell Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour, plus extra for rolling

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

8 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

3 to 4 tablespoons very cold ice water

Pie Shell Instructions

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor and pulse until well combined. Add half of the butter cubes and pulse 8 times. Then add the other half and pulse 6 more times. You should have a mixture that resembles a coarse meal, with many butter pieces the size of peas. Slowly add two tablespoons of ice-cold water (without the ice) to the food processor bowl and pulse several times. Then add more ice water, slowly, a teaspoon at a time, pulsing several times after each addition, until the mixture just barely begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If not, add a little more water and pulse again. Try to keep the water to a minimum. Too much water will make your crust tough. 

Remove the crumbly mixture from the food processor and place it on a very clean, smooth surface. Then, use your hands to press the crumbly dough together and shape it into a disk. Work the dough only enough to just bring the dough together. Do not over-knead or your crust will end up tough. Sprinkle the disk with a little flour on all the sides. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour. 

When you are ready to roll out the dough, remove the disk from the fridge and let it sit for 10-15 minutes to make it easier to move. While the disk is still wrapped in plastic wrap, warm the edges with your hands. If there are any cracks in the dough, massage them to close them. 

Place the dough disk on a lightly floured, clean flat surface. Sprinkle some flour on the top of the disk. If the dough is a bit stiff, use your rolling pin to press down on the center a few times. No need to be gentle at this point. You're trying to shock the chilled butter in the dough to loosen up a bit. 

Roll out the dough to a 12-inch circle, to a thickness of about 1/8 of an inch thick. Place on to a 9-inch pie plate or pan, lining up the fold with the center of the pan. Gently unfold and press down to line the pie dish with the dough. 

 

Pie Ingredients

1 9-inch pie shell

1/2 cup chopped yellow or red onion 

(about 1/3 of an onion), sautéed 

3 to 4 tomatoes, cut in half horizontally, 

squeeze to remove excess juice, roughly 

chopped yields bout 3 cups

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 cup sliced basil*

2 cups grated cheese (Mexican blend)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Frank's hot sauce

Ground black pepper

*Note: This recipe calls for slicing fresh basil using a technique called chiffonade. To do this stack the basil leaves on top of each other and roll them up like a cigar. Starting at one end, slice the "cigar" crosswise in thin slices. 

Pie Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F. 

If you are using a store-bought pie shell, follow the directions on the package for pre-baking, or pre-bake it in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes (a little longer for a frozen pie shell) until lightly browned.

If you are using a homemade crust, freeze the crust first, then press a sheet of aluminum foil into the crust to keep the sides of the pie crust from falling down as it cooks. Fill the pie with pie weights such as dry beans or rice to help hold the foil in place. Pre-bake the homemade crust for 15 minutes, then remove the foil, use the tines of a fork to poke a few small holes in the bottom of the crust (for venting), and bake for 10 more minutes.

Lightly salt the chopped tomatoes and set them in a colander over a bowl to drain while you are pre-baking the crust. Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, using either paper towels, a clean dish towel, or a potato ricer. Sprinkle a layer of chopped sautéed onion over the bottom of your pre-baked pie crust shell. Spread the drained chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes.

In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, Tabasco, a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper. The mixture should be the consistency of a gooey snowball. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes.

Place in oven and bake until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes.