I had read about Southern tomato pie in books and always thought that it sounded delicious. Unfortunately, none of the recipes that I researched came close to sounding like what I was imagining in my head. The inspiration recipe below came the closest, because of the cornmeal in the crust, but I still had to adapt the recipe to ensure that the pie was not overwhelmed by the sweet side of the tomatoes and to find a better flavor balance than the original (IMHO). I made the crust exactly as is set out in the inspiration recipe so have not written it out below; just click on the link for the recipe. (By the way, it is an excellent crust and leftovers, rolled out thinly and dusted with Parmesan, made lovely crackers).
I think mini versions of these with a salad of bitter greens or baby leaves would make for a lovely summer lunch and, in fact, was thinking of making a tartlet version as a dinner party appetizer. Having eaten a slice for dinner this evening I changed my mind, this pie is good but too rich and calorific to be served as part of a several course dinner.
This recipe is my Southern tomato pie filling for an 8" pie.
2 cups roughly chopped Summer tomatoes, seeds removed, flesh only
1 cup grated white cheddar
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/3 cup chopped scallions
1 egg
1/3 cup chopped basil leaves
1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 Tbsp thyme leaves
4 Tbsps mayonnaise (Yuck, I know but tomatoes and mayo are sort of a classic combo...)
2 Tbps sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste (err on the generous side to counteract the sweetness of the tomatoes)
It is very important to remove as many of the seeds and as much juice as possible from the tomatoes or you will have a soggy mess instead of a cohesive pie. I saved all this and dumped it in gaspacho. I used a mixture of yellow and red tomatoes, both heirloom and cherry; use the ripest, most flavorful tomatoes that you can find.
Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and pour into your prepared crust. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.
Letting the pie rest for 15 minutes before serving is key.
Inspiration and pie crust recipe, here.