Tomato Pie with Olive Oil Rosemary Crust

They say that there are two things that money can't buy - true love and home grown tomatoes.  You really can't have too much love though, but you can have too many home grown tomatoes.  Or, at least, you can have too many for the time you have to do something with them.  I have lots of home grown tomatoes and a very busy next few weeks, so I doubt there is going to be a lot of canning, etc. in my future, so you may see a lot of tomatoes recipes as I try to use them up.  


Tomato pie is usually a mainstay in our house over the summer showing up every week or two, but this is the first time we have had it this year.  It not only uses the tomatoes my husband grows in his garden, but also the herbs that I grow (or plant and let him take care of...) in mine.  The tomatoes came a bit late this year, and we are trying to eat a bit healthier, so our tomato pie eating has been curtailed a bit.  I did substitute light mayonnaise this time, so it is a smidgen healthier, but it is still not exactly good for you.  The taste, however, is so good that we couldn't let the summer get away without having it at least once, and I didn't even notice the light mayonnaise.  The best part is the olive oil rosemary pie crust anyway.


I didn't actually have a recipe for any of this except the crust until last year, when I wrote it all down to go in the farmers' market cookbook where I sold cupcakes.  I must admit, having a recipe written down does make it easier, and you can always change it up by using additional or different herbs.  It is not in the recipe, but I added in a bit of lemon verbena this time.

Tomato Pie with Olive Oil Rosemary Crust
yield:  1 pie (8 slices)


Fresh ripe tomatoes (about 3 or 4 large), sliced and divided
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tbsps. cold water
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped and divided
4 cloves garlic, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 1/4 cups mayonnaise (Light works well, too.)
1 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Slice tomatoes and lay on paper towels to drain.  Stir together flour, salt, and rosemary.  Add oil and blend until crumbly with a pastry blender.  Stir in cold water.  Shape the doughd into a ball and roll out between two sheets of waxed paper.  Roll the dough over the rolling pin to transfer to a 9 inch pie plate.  Layer approximately half of the tomatoes over the crust.  You want to cover as much as the crust as possible without overlapping the slices.  I always cut some of the tomatoes to fit in the empty spots.  Sprinkle with half the basil, half the garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and half the mozzarella cheese.  Repeat layers. Combine mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese, stirring well.  Spread the mayonnaise mixture over the other ingredients, making sure to cover well all the way to the crust.  Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until golden brown.




Linked up on Made It by Monday at Baked in the South and Foodie Friends Friday. .