Old-Fashioned Tomato Pie

A fabulous recipe from America’s Deep South, this recipe for Old-Fashioned Tomato Pie makes great used of seasonal tomatoes.

A fabulous recipe from America’s Deep South, this recipe for Old-Fashioned Tomato Pie makes great used of seasonal tomatoes. I’ve used assorted heritage tomatoes in my recipe, in different sizes and colours, but any fresh tomatoes will be fine in this old-fashioned pie recipe. There are many recipes for Tomato Pie in the States, some using buttery shortcrust pastry and others using puff pastry. I’ve opted to use ready-made and ready-rolled puff pastry, as we love the lightness it gives.

Use a strong flavoured cheese and a good (or homemade) mayonnaise. I love using mayonnaise in cooking and baking, and I am often asked why it makes such a handy ingredient to use. Well, it’s a handy store cupboard staple in most homes, it is made from eggs and oil, so is suitable for using in cooking (and baking) and is a brilliant ingredient for tarts, flans, pies and quiches etc, if you have no eggs, or just a few eggs. Serve this in slices (once cooled) with salad, and make sure you have a real Southern style pitcher of iced tea handy too!

The start of this week, on Monday the 25th May 2020, heralds two weeks of British Tomato Fortnight. And I think my recipe for Old-Fashioned Tomato Pie is the perfect recipe to highlight this juicy couple of weeks! We LOVE tomatoes in all shapes and sizes here at Chez Lavender & Lovage. However, my favourite tomatoes are heirloom or heritage tomatoes, and I’m currently buying mine online at The Tomato Stall.

The Tomato Stall, also known as Isle of Wight Tomatoes, grows over 40 different varieties every year. And, it’s clear that they are passionate about taste, trialling over 200 varieties each year in their quest for the finest flavours. From the hearty beef to the naturally sweet Piccolo, their diverse range of tomatoes are carefully selected to offer an amazing range to choose from.

My recipe for Old-Fashioned Tomato Pie is an easy recipe to prepare and make. It uses lots of store cupboard, freezer or what I would call pantry ingredients such as mayonnaise, onion, ready-made pastry and of course tomatoes. You CAN make your own pastry for this pie, I recommend shortcrust. But, if you are like me, you will probably have a few packets of ready-made pastry in the freezer.

And, like all good recipes, you can substitute and change a few things to suit what you have available too. I’ve shared a handy list of Other Ways to Make and Bake my Old-Fashioned Tomato Pie Recipe below.

• Shortcrust pastry can be used in place of puff pastry.
• For a crisp golden bottom on the pastry, heat a large baking tray in the oven and place the pie dish onto the hot tray when baking.
• For a firmer and crisper pastry base, you can bake the pastry blind before adding the filling. Put a sheet of baking paper into the pastry case and cover with baking beans, bake for 10 minutes.
• For a less “wet” filling, you can “salt the tomatoes” beforehand. Arrange them in a colander and sprinkle salt over them, allow them to release their juices and then pat dry before using them in the filling. No need to add extra salt if you do this step.
• Chopped spring onions can be used in place of the fried onion, no need to cook them before adding them to the filling.
• For a firmer pie filling texture, you can add one beaten egg to the cheese and mayonnaise mixture.
• You can roast the tomatoes before you add them to the pie filling.
• Arrange some of the tomatoes on top as a final garnish before baking.

I have lots of tomato recipes on Lavender & Lovage, so if you are wanting something a little less pie-like, then I have shared some other tomato recipes below. I hope you feel inspired to make today’s recipe for Old-Fashioned Tomato Pie, PLEASE do leave your comments below if you make it. Karen

The recipe calls for fresh herbs, such as chives, parsley, basil, thyme, lovage and oregano. My freshly picked herbs for this Old-Fashioned Tomato Pie comprised: curly parsley; oregano, lemon thyme, chives and lovage. Obviously I would have loved to have added the tomatoes best herbal pal, basil, but my plants are still too young to harvest any leaves.

Try to avoid adding rosemary or sage, as they are very strongly flavoured and may overpower the rest of the herbs. Also use lovage sparingly, as again it gas a very pungent flavour. Dill would also be a nice choice, as it marries very well with tomatoes. Baby Greek basil leaves are wonderful when added, and chervil is also a fabulous herb to add to this pie recipe.

You’ll find the full and printable recipe at the end of this post.

• Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas mark 6. Line a 25cm (12″) large pie dish with baking paper.
• Fry the onion in the olive oil over a gentle heat until it is soft and translucent. Set it aside to cool.

• Slice all of the tomatoes, and roughly chop all of the herbs.

• Ease the ready-rolled pastry into the prepared pie dish and trim the edges around the top of the pie dish. Crimp the edges of the pastry with a fork and prick the bottom of the pastry case.
• Scatter HALF of the grated Gruyere cheese over the base of the pastry case.

• Spoon half of of the fried onions over the cheese and scatter the chopped herbs over the onion.

• Arrange a layer of sliced tomatoes over the filing, and then layer the remaining tomatoes with the fried onion and chopped herbs, ending with a layer of tomatoes. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper on the last tomato layer.

• Mix half of the remaining Gruyere cheese with all of the Cheddar cheese and mayonnaise until you have a thick paste, and spoon the mixture over the tomatoes.

• Scatter the remaining Gruyere cheese over the cheese and mayonnaise layer and bake in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, until the pastry has puffed up and is light brown, and the pie filling is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.