Tomato Pie -- Summer in a Shell

     Each summer it seems as though I find a new food to latch on to.  I find myself repeating a recipe, attempting to perfect it, and then serving it to anyone willing to try my latest find.  Always there is some ingredient that relies on being eaten in the summer.  I recall one year quite vividly when I discovered bruschetta; I feel certain that I had more than one group of friends who wished I might move on from my favorite new dish.

     I firmly believe that the summer of 2013 will be fondly remembered as the summer I served tomato pie.

   If you have never had a chance to try one of these Southern delights, then you really need to go to your local farmer's market right now, purchase a couple of pounds of the freshest tomatoes you can find and a handful of basil, stop at the grocery store on the way home for the other few ingredients, and MAKE A TOMATO PIE!  I promise, you will be more than glad you listened to me on this one.

   I actually had never heard of a tomato pie, much less eaten one, until last summer when my dear friend Sundi and her husband Dave pulled a fresh one right out of their Charleston oven.  I know I had at least two, if not three, slices of pie that evening.  It was truly one of the most delicious foods I had ever tasted.  Looking back, it makes perfect sense that Sundi would serve this dish.  Sundi is South Carolina sunshine inside and out and is the perfect Southern hostess.  I love regional dishes and have since researched this amazing find.  It turns out that tomato pies pop up on many menus around the South, but particularly in the Carolinas.  I found a fantastic article from the Boston Globe that showcases one Carolina family who bake these pies and sell them from their farm stand.  A simple Google search will yield you more than your fair share of various recipes.

   While my family and I recently vacationed on Hilton Head in South Carolina, we discovered the most charming little market and restaurant called Low Country Produce Market and Cafe.  The Low Country Produce company manufactures some amazing products that come from old family recipes and support local farmers.  I had recently discovered the company when I purchased some pepper jelly made by them here in my own northeast Tennessee hometown so I was thrilled to find this cafe and market on vacation.  Turns out they have their own version of tomato pie so I had to purchase one for lunch one day.  They use a pimiento cheese base in their pie and incorporate their jarred onion jam into the recipe.  The pie was quite different from the one I have been making, but still delicious.  If you are on Hilton Head Island any time soon, do yourself a favor and stop by this market for a slice!

    As for my own version of the pie, I began with a recipe from the The Tupelo Honey Cookbook:  Spirited Recipes from Asheville's New South Kitchen and then changed it a bit to make it my own.  Tupelo Honey recently opened a restaurant here in town and it is truly one of my favorites.  They began in Asheville and have slowly begun to open more and more restaurants around the Carolinas and Tennessee.  If you are ever near one, the wait is certainly worth the food.

    It turns out that according to my expert on tomato pies, my friend Sundi, there is a bit of a divide in the tomato pie making community.  One camp defends the double crust version (which is the kind Sundi and Dave serve) and the other calls for just one crust on the bottom and more filling.  I have eaten both and find them to be equally satisfying.  For me, the single crust is just the easier choice since I only have to deal with one pie crust so that tends to be my go-to version.

    The recipe from Tupelo Honey Cafe contains only one crust so that's where I started.  You can find the Tupelo Honey Cafe Tomato Pie original recipe right on the website along with a little more information on varieties of tomatoes.  I did change it a little so here is my own version:

Ingredients:

One single pie crust -- I STRONGLY suggest you put your newly perfected pie crust skills that you found on my last post to work here but if you must, purchase a pie crust from the freezer section

2 lb. fresh tomatoes -- I like to use a variety of yellow and red

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese -- freshly grated melts best (the better the cheese, the better the pie)

4 T. shredded Parmesan cheese

1 C. mayonnaise

1 t. ground pepper

3 chopped green onions

2 T. chopped fresh basil

1 C. plain panko crumbs


1.  Heat oven to 425 degrees.

2.  Begin with your tomatoes.  Slice them all 1/2 " thick.  For my latest pie, I visited my farmer's market and found this beautiful bowl of tomatoes.

3.  Roll out your pie crust and place it in a deep dish pie pan.  If you are using a frozen crust, prepare it according to the directions on the box.

4.  Stir together all of the other ingredients, saving tomatoes for assembly.

4.  Layer your pie beginning with tomatoes.  Place one third of the tomatoes in the bottom of the pie crust.  Top with one third of your creamy cheese mixture.  Repeat twice more and end with the creamy cheese mixture on the top.

5.  Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until the pie is hot and the top is brown.  You may need to cover your crust during the last part of the baking.

   Now, aren't you grateful you learned how to make that pie crust from scratch and can abundantly share this tomato pie recipe at every function you attend during tomato season?