May 28th, 2008

Tomato Pie

This is a side dish, not a dessert, but it’s almost as yummy!  Use the freshest tomatoes possible, right off the vine is wonderful.  I make my own pie crust (see my recipe) but you can certainly use frozen ones, just keep in mind you need a top and bottom crust.

Pie crust:
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 stick or 1 cup plain (not butter flavored) Crisco
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
½ cup water

Pie filling:
10-15 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped in large chunks
2 8-oz packages sliced fresh mushrooms
½ cup fresh (no substitutes) snipped basil
½ cup real (no subsitutes) mayonnaise
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups shredded sharp or extra sharp cheddar chesse

Make the pie crust as you usually would, roll out a top and bottom, and set aside. Peel, seed and chop the tomatoes (this is the messy part but just keep in mind that the end result will be worth it). Next, in a large bowl, combine the tomatoes and the remaining filling ingredients and mix very gently. You want to keep the tomatoes as intact as possible. Now ease one pie crust into a 9-inch pie dish, add the filling, and top with the remaining pie crust. Seal well and cut a pretty pattern in the top to let it breathe. Before baking, brush the crust with ¼ cup milk mixed with about 1 tsp real mayonnaise. This makes the crust all shiny and golden. Bake at 400 degrees for about an hour but watch it so the crust doesn’t become overly brown. If so, cover the edges of the pie with foil and continue baking. There’s a lot of moisture in this pie so you want to be sure to bake it long enough to brown the bottom crust too. Let the pie rest at least 15 minutes before serving.

Click here for printable recipe.

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