Tomato Pie - the spirit of all things summer

Tomato pie has become one of the staples at almost every summer dinner. Everyone seems to like the freshness of the pie with whatever happens to be coming off of the grill.


You can make many variations of this pie by changing the mustard to pesto, or changing the kind of cheese ( I always make different combinations). Feel free to experiment and make this pie your own signature dish! It is fast and easy……



TOMATO PIE






Pie dough - I but the Pillsbury in a box - in the refrigerater section.  Just roll in into the pie plate...


5-6 plum tomatoes (regular tomatoes tend to have too much water in them stick to the plum tomatoes if you can)


Fresh basil


Olive oil to drizzle


Dijon mustard, or any mustard, or pesto


Fresh mozzarella (also love to use gruyere or a combination of the two, or cream chees, or brie, whatever you like...)


Place pie crust in pie plate. Again, I like to use the Pillsbury pie crust from the refrigerator section of the grocery. Just roll out and put into the pie plate. Do not flute the edges, just let them hang over the sides.


At the bottom of the plate, spread Dijon mustard. Only 1 or 2 tablespoons, depending on your taste. Spread all over the bottom. I sometimes change this to a spicy mustard of some kind, or a honey mustard……lots of good mustards to choose from. If you don’t like mustard, this recipe is also good with a nice pesto at the bottom.


Over the mustard, put your cheese. Just slice or shred the cheese and place over the mustard to cover the bottom…….don’t be stingy, this layer will melt and really give the dish flavor and texture!


Thinly slice the tomatoes and arrange to cover the cheese. It is okay if there are a few layers of tomatoes, I just fill the pie plate with tomatoes all the way to the top. I then drizzle the tomatoes with a little olive oil. I chop a few leaves of fresh basil and sprinkle on top….then add a little black pepper. I then fold the pie shell edges in over the tomatoes…..it gives it a very rustic looking peasant pie.


Bake for about 40 minutes at 375……..let sit for about 10 minutes before serving so that the cheese sets a bit.