Tomato Pie Like You've Never Known

Steps

1. Start by making your pie crust. I highly recommend making your own! I have a recipe and detailed instructions on my Homemade Pie Crust post. This recipe makes two crusts; you only need one for this recipe. You can freeze the other crust for the next time you make this!

2. Par-Bake. Once you have your pastry crust rolled out in your pie pan (whether homemade or store bought), follow my instructions for How to Blind Bake a Pie Crust. Make sure to chill the pie crust. Use the instructions at the end for Par-Baking the crust. (This means after you remove the weights, you will only be baking the pie another 3-4 minutes.) Remove your par-baked crust from the oven and set aside to cool.

3. Choose your tomatoes. Roma tomatoes or Beefsteak tomatoes are my top choices for this pie, but you can use any garden tomatoes you have available. Pick tomatoes that are not overly-juicy, ones that are a bit sturdy and will hold their shape when baked. Very-juicy tomatoes could disintegrate when cooked, and the moisture will seep into your crust and make it soggy-sad.

4. Seed the tomatoes. Remove the stem and core of 4 tomatoes, using a knife. Cut each tomato in half crosswise. (Crosswise means if you set the tomato on the counter on it's bottom, you are lopping off it's top half.) Use your fingers to remove the seeds and juice from the cavities in each tomato half. Squeeze each tomato and do a good job; we want to get as much juice out as possible.

5. Chop the tomatoes. Use a serrated knife to chop the tomato flesh into a large dice, pieces that are small-bite-sized. Add the tomatoes to a measuring cup and keep chopping until you have about 4 cups.

6. Salt the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes to a colander. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, stirring the tomatoes to make sure they all get salted. Set the colander in a shallow bowl to collect juice. We are salting the tomatoes to help them release even more juice. (and because salt is tasty) Stir them occasionally while you prep everything else.

7. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place a large baking sheet (or even better, a pizza stone) in the oven on the center rack to heat up.

8. Layer ingredients in the pie crust. Sprinkle the bottom of the pie crust with 1 tablespoon cornmeal. Shred 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese and spread over the cornmeal. Finely dice about half a small onion to get 1/2 cup. Sprinkle the chopped onions over the cheese. Chop 1/4 cup basil and sprinkle over the top of the onions. Set aside.

9. Make the mayo mixture. In a medium bowl, add 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 clove chopped garlic, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and a few grinds of fresh black pepper. Add 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, 1/2 cup sharp cheddar, and 1/2 cup gruyere cheese*. Make sure you pack the cheese into the measuring cup. (You want about 12 ounces total cheese in your pie, including the top sprinkle) Stir the cheese into the mayo so it forms a thick spread. Set aside.

10. Dry the tomatoes. We are doing even more tomato prep. Lay out sheets of paper towels and dump the chopped tomatoes on top in a single layer. Use another layer of paper towels and press them into the tomatoes. Add HALF the dried out tomatoes to the pie shell, on top of the basil.

11. Use a spatula to spread ALL of the mayo-cheese mixture on top of the tomatoes.

12. Top the mayo mixture with all the remaining dried out tomatoes.

13. Top the tomatoes with 1/4 cup cheddar, 1/4 cup mozzarella, and 1/4 cup gruyere. Or whatever cheese combo speaks to your heart!

14. Pie crust shield. I like to use a pie crust shield to line the edge of the crust so that the edges don't get too brown. Get a square of aluminum foil a little bigger than the size of your pie. Fold it in half, then in half again so that it's in quarters. Then use scissors to cut out the middle section. When you open it, you will have a square of foil with a circle cut out from the center. Mold this around the edges of your golden pie crust.

15. BAKE. Place your tin-foiled pie on the hot metal pan (or stone) in the oven. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Check the pie about 5-10 minutes before it should be done, and remove the pie shield if the corners of your pie are not browning. Don't take it off so long that your crust burns! You can also fold up your tin shield and use scissors to make the hole a little bigger. The goal is to get the top of the cheese crispy and golden, without burning the already-baked edge. Once the top of the pie is golden, remove the pie from the oven.

16. Let the pie cool on a cooling rack for at least 15-30 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve with more fresh basil, if you have it!

17. Storage: Cover the cooled pie and refrigerate any leftovers for up to 5 days! The longer it sits, the soggier it becomes...I highly recommend a tomato pie diet until it's gone.