What to Do with All Those Tomatoes
When you grow a garden, you know what it’s like when the tomatoes start coming in heavy and you have to figure out what to do with them. My mother used to can stewed tomatoes. It took her one long weekend, but we had enough for the whole winter.
I had an even worse problem than tomatoes one year with zucchini. When those things ripen, they start taking over the yard! They can get the size of footballs in no time flat. That summer lead me to design a recipe for zucchini lasagna. This was back in the late 70’s before zucchini lasagna became a “thing.” I made zucchini lasagna for my family, my friends or even anyone at the office who would take a casserole home.
Now that I live in the mid-South, I am trying to learn more and more about the cooking here...
Southern Tomato Pie
Two things I love about living mid-South: fried green tomatoes, and tomato pie.
Ingredients:
1 prebaked pie shell.
4 – 6 tomatoes cut into ¼” slices. I do not bother to peel them. The skin melts right in the pie
1 Tbl of butter
½ cup of onion or leeks
1/2 tsp of powdered garlic (or to taste)
10 fresh basil leaves sliced thinly. You’re shooting for a quarter cup.
1 cup of grated mozzarella, divided
1 cup of grated cheddar (when you review different recipes not everyone suggests cheddar, but I thought it gave it more color and flavor
2/3 cup of mayonnaise (In the South, Duke’s mayo is popular)
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to bake your pie crust according to the directions on the box or in the recipe for the almond crust version.
Take your tomato slices and spread them across paper towels set on your counter. Don’t let them touch. Spread them out. Lightly grate sea salt on top. Let them sit at least 15 minutes or up to 30.
Bake your crust in a pie pan or a nine inch tart pan with a removable bottom. This will take less than 12 minutes depending on the recipe.
When the hot crust comes out of the oven spread on quarter cup of the grated mozzarella. You just want a few shreds to cover the bottom of the crust.
Let cool.
In a saute pan, melt the butter and put in your leeks or onion. Saute just until loosened. If you are in a hurry you can just spread the onion on the bottom of the crust and put the butter bits on top. Sprinkle on your garlic powder.
Put on a layer of tomato slices. Then sprinkle on the basil. If you are using a tart pan it’s probably going to be just one layer of tomato slices. If it’s a pie pan you’ll likely have a second layer of tomato. Grate on sea salt and pepper to taste.
Then combine the rest of the cheeses and the mayo in a small bowl. Top the tomatoes with this mixture and spread it to the edges.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until the top is lightly browned.
Let it set out of the oven for five to ten minutes so you don’t burn your mouth. This also makes it easier to cut and hold together well.
Serve warm.
Cheers,
Zola
