This is a summer staple at our house. Like gazpacho, we wait all year for beautiful, ripe, juicy local tomatoes so that we can make this recipe. My best friend, E, gave me the recipe for the original version of this dish, but I have adapted it quite a bit, so I’ll just give you my version here. This absolutely must be made with fresh, ripe (but not over-ripe or TOO juicy) tomatoes. This dish is worth a visit to a farm or farmer’s market to get them.
Fresh Tomato Pie
(We have a tendency to call this ‘Mater Pie, since my farmer mother-in-law calls potatoes “taters” and tomatoes “maters”, but that looks really funny to me now that Boy and Girl are learning Latin.)
1/2 package refrigerated pie crust
(one of the two crusts that come in the package)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil chiffonade
about 5 fresh, ripe but firm, medium-sized tomatoes, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
(discard stem and bottom ends or chop up and reserve for another use)
about 2 Tbsp olive oil (or an olive oil spray)
kosher salt (about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp?) and freshly ground pepper (about 1/4 tsp?)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Fit piecrust into a 9 inch glass pie plate. Fold edges over top edge of pie plate (make a decorative edge, if desired – there are some ideas on the pie crust package). Prick dough all over (sides and bottom) with a fork. Bake at 400 for 5 minutes.
Remove crust from oven and spray it lightly with the olive oil (or brush on a light coating). Sprinkle about 1 cup of the cheese onto the crust. Arrange a layer of tomato slices on top of the cheese, cutting some rounds into pieces, if necessary, to fill in any “gaps” and form one solid layer. Sprinkle lightly with half of the salt and half of the pepper. Spray (or brush) with another tiny bit of olive oil. Top with 1 Tbsp. of the basil and then another 1/2 cup of cheese. Repeat one more layer of tomatoes, salt, pepper, olive oil, 1 Tbsp of basil and then the remaining cheese. Top with 1 more Tbsp of basil and set the remaining 1 Tbsp aside for later. Place pie on a cookie sheet on a lower rack in the oven. Bake at 400 degrees, uncovered, for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove pie from the oven when the tomatoes are bubbling up and the crust and cheese topping are nicely browned. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving, using paper towels to VERY gently blot up any excess juice that bubbles to the surface while the pie is standing. Before serving, sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp of basil.
After removing the first slice, I will usually tilt the pie (put a dishtowel under one end of the dish) so that the excess juices (there will be lots of them) will drip into the empty space, and then I’ll put a folded paper towel there to collect them. The crust will easily get soggy if it’s allowed to sit in the excess tomato juices. The leftovers of this pie will MAYBE keep for one day in the refrigerator, but it is VASTLY better if it’s eaten while it’s still warm. It’s great as a brunch or lunch dish and can even stand up as a light summer entree, if you pair it with a light salad or green vegetable.
My other mother-in-law (it’s a long story…) adds a layer of caramelized onions when she makes this pie. It is definitely a recipe that could be adapted in lots of different ways (corn/cilantro/black bean, fresh oregano/feta, etc.).
Beware – it is NOT necessary to grease the pie pan before placing the dough in it. If you forget this and grease it, anyway, the dough will slide down and this will happen:
All is not lost, however. You can gently lift the gooey dough out of the pie pan and onto a foil-lined baking sheet, sprinkle it lightly with salt, pepper, grated Parmesan, garlic powder and Italian Herb Seasoning and bake it at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes and then slice it into strips for a garlic-cheesy toast stick that is a great with a bowl of soup.
Thank goodness those pie crusts come two in a package!