Green Tomato Pie-Summer Tomato Pie-Savory Tomato Pie
By Kim Morgan • May 31st, 2008 • Category: Vegetables & Sides
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Well it’s about time. All this talk about a Tomato Pie and it took me over a week to deliver. I am pleased to report that the delay was worth it. I think you will be thrilled with one of these versions of a Tomato Pie. Yes, to complicate matters there are three versions of this Southern gem. Heading out on an early am jaunt, I hit the Charleston Farmer’s Market for my green tomatoes and other items to hold me over for a week. It was time to stock up on fresh produce and quite frankly, I can’t bear to go to the grocery store when I know with a little planning I can buy all my produce at the Farmer’s Market despite the parking challenge.
Like the Bean Pie, the Tomato Pie is another one of those recipes dreamed up by Southerners while they sipped their sweet tea, rocking on the porch swing. I am glad for this past-time as the Tomato Pie is going to have a repeat performance in my house, especially during the summer months when tomatoes are in abundance.
Add to the future excitement. I have an in with a farmer who specializes in Heirloom Tomatoes. I will be calling in my favor with my daughter M and using it to get introduced to him. Not one to ruin something before the deal is done, I can’t divulge my source or the farmer’s name. But let’s just say this is going to be good. I’m stocking up on recipes that will be worthy of a try with the Heirloom Tomato as the main ingredient. Nothing like a connection to brighten the day. Even though I grew up in the garden state and adore Jersey tomatoes, I have not been disappointed with the Southern version and love Heirlooms.
Searching for a Tomato Pie recipe was not easy. There are three versions and I faced a quandary, which one do I make first? Green Tomato Pie the sweet version that included some sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter or the Savory Tomato Pie or Summer Tomato Pie version using ripe tomatoes with basil, a cream sauce, and mozzarella or cheddar cheese. Ultimately, I decided on the Green Tomato Pie version, the one with just a few ingredients to highlight the taste of green tomatoes. It is also the version that sounded more Southern.
I am including all three recipes so that you can decide for yourself which one you want to try. Frankly, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them. Combining more than one recipe for the Green Tomato Pie, I came up with my own version. Even though I chose to not pre-cook my tomatoes as some recipes suggested, it was a mistake. Despite the cooking time and slicing the tomatoes thin they weren’t cooked enough for me. I also chose to keep my tomatoes in rounds and won’t do so next time as quartering them will make cutting easier.
Even though this is a sweet pie and very similar to an apple pie it belongs as a side to a dinner meal not as a dessert. I served it with lots of freshly cracked pepper and it was fabulous. Green tomatoes don’t taste at all like a ripe tomato and this was a treat. Leftovers were not a disappointment also, which is important. I can’t wait to try the other versions.
Which one am I going to try next? James Villas version as I am partial to cheddar cheese.
Deep Dish Green Tomato Pie
6-8 medium-large green tomatoes
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 -1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
2-4 tablespoons butter
Pastry for two pie crusts here.
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Wash the green tomatoes and blanch them in hot water till the skin starts to loosen. Remove from water and drain.
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Peel when cool enough to handle. If you have trouble use a grater.
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Cut the tomatoes into fourths after slicing them into 1/4 inch rounds.
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Saute them in the butter with lemon juice, peel, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
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Combining cornstarch with the sugar add to the tomato mixture.
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Cook the mixture until the juices become clear. Not to long you still want a crunch or you will get a soggy mess which is not good for this version.
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Take off heat and set aside to cool somewhat.
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Line a 9 inch pie pan with one of the pie crusts.
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Pour tomato mixture on top.
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Top with the second pie crust, seal edges, crimp and cut any extra .
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Cut a few slits in the top of the pie.
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Bake at a 425 degree oven for 45 minutes. Watch to make sure it doesn’t get too brown before the time is up.
If does cover with foil while the pie finishes in the oven. -
Cool slightly and serve warm.
Summer Tomato Pie
James Villas, My Mother’s Southern Kitchen
One 9″ pie crust
5 medium size ripe tomatoes, sliced
1 cup chopped green onions, some leaves included
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup homemade mayonnaise or Hellman’s mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
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Prick the pie crust with a fork, bake 10 minutes, and remove from the oven.
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Reduce the heat to 325 degrees
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Cover the bottom of the crust with two layers of tomatoes.
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Sprinkle on half the scallions, oregano, and basil and season with salt and pepper.
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In a bowl, combine the cheddar cheese and mayonnaise, mix till well blended, and spread half the mixture over the tomatoes.
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Repeat the layering process and top with the parmesan cheese.
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Bake for about 45 minutes till golden and firm.
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Let the pie cool some then slice into wedges.
Savory Tomato Pie
Same as above but replace cheddar cheese with mozzarella cheese.
Use 3 tablespoons basil.
Top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
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Kim Morgan is the aspiring writer, photographer & passionate cook of ayankeeinasouthernkitchen.com; she is currently cooking Southern food, one stick of butter at a time.
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I haven’t seen tomatoes yet at the farmer’s markets here in Boston, but I’ll keep this in mind when I do.
SPECTACULAR! of course, the most important thing to me when eating a pie is the crust, and yours is magnificent. hear that faint noise? it’s a round of applause coming from me for you.:)
Hey Kim! I found your site looking for recipes to help me deal with my green tomato abundance… thank you for posting these, you are a life saver. In return, I can offer you my chatty recipe for tempura’s green and roasted grape tomato salad… don’t say I never thanked you!!!
Best, Catherine, aka The Blushing Hostess
http://blushinghostess.blogspot.com/2008/05/i-left-neither-bread-crumbs-nor-popcorn.html
Mmmm! This sounds so delicious. I’ve never tried a green tomato – I know green heirloom ones taste just like other tomatoes, but are green tomatoes as above basically “unripe”? I would love to try this out, but I think a savory one sounds better to me, too. Yummmm!
P.S. – the website is looking GREAT!
This is lovely. I have always wanted to make a green tomato pie. This is a beautiful example.
Wow Kim. I think you have progressed from the “learning” stage of your southern cooking!
All of these recipes sound good. I love tomatoes and I am partial to the recipe with the cheese.
I’ll be trying one of these soon.
Oooh! I have been so curious about green tomato pie! I am planning to make one when green tomamtoes are in season this fall- thanks for the recipe, looks dee-lish!
The tomato pie sounds like such a wonderful idea! I usually eat my pasta with just some raw tomatoes (no sauce), Feta and fresh oregano. That being said I think I’ll first try the savoury one
.
I can only dream of getting such a great crust.
My mother in law makes a mean tomato pie…loaded with mayo of course
I like the sound and look of the first recipe much better though, simpler, cleaner. I just planted a tomato plant and I can see a little floer already…I am psyched about it!!
I eat tomatoes like fruit every morning while they are in season. Why not a tomato pie 3 ways:D
Oh WOW, I thought this was a savoury pie until I read your last paragraph. I’ve just got to try and make this now. I’ve only made fried green tomatoes once as green tomatoes are never to be seen here in Sydney and I only got them from my sister in law’s garden. I’ll definitely have to ask her if she has some more so that I can try this fantastic pie!
I think I like the idea of the cheddar and onion pie more than the sweet version. That said, I’d really like to try a bite of the sweet version since I can’t quite get my head wrapped around it.
I tried this as a way to use up green tomatoes from my garden. Didn’t particularly like the flavor… like a cross between apple pie and ketchup. Maybe this is an acquired taste?
Since I have had my Greatgrandmother’s Green Tomato pie since I was a Child, I am partial to a basic recipe, Tomato, Sugar, Cinnamon, Flour, salt and Lemon Juice. KMorgan, you thought that the tomato was not cooked as much as you would have liked, that is a personal preference. I like to slice them thin then cut them in half so that the slices nest together nicely and I can get a well packed pie. I personaly like the tomato to be slightly crisp. Also, we do not peel the Tomatoes. I had not thought about nutmeg, so I will have to try it the next time I make one.
I recently took two pies to work and the guys went nuts; they wanted to know what kind of apple pie it was. One guy even packed up an extra slice to take to his wife. I didn’t tell them what it was until the pies were both gone. I ended printing up a half dozen recipes because they wanted to try it themselves. Now I just have to prefect my crusts, I just can’t seem to match my mothers’. Happy cooking!
I saw this recipe linked from Gapers Block in Chicago, and I wanted to add a little caution about using green tomatoes. As with other nightshades (potatoes, eggplants, and other non-produce plants), there are alkaloid compounds in tomatoes that can cause severe illness in high enough doses.
It would be best to make sure that green tomatoes in this pie are cooked at a temperature of at least 300F in order to break down the solanine alkaloids they contain. Deep-frying tomatoes and potatoes substantially reduces solanine content, but obviously that wouldnt work for this recipe.
Sensitive stomachs (or people who indulge in a few slices) might not respond well to undercooked or raw green tomatoes… if 80g worth or more are eaten.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanine#Solanine_in_green_tomatoes
Kim, Thanks for the great recipe, it was a hit but wanted to share my personal twist to both the Summer and Savory varieties in the event others want to give it a try. In both the Summer and Savory versions, I deleted the mayonnaise and substituted ricotta cheese. In the savory version, I added a layer of Italian sausage, it was heaven. In the summer version, I added 2 eggs to the cheese mixture which made it a bit more quiche like.
wow, I like the variety of different recipies and thank u for sharing them with us.
Just thought I’d post my version of Green Tomato Pie. When my husband and I first heard of a green tomato pie we thought this can’t be good. Our friends were coming for dinner and they were bringing a green tomatoe pie. So we thought ok, we’ll try it but really doubt we’ll like it. We are now addicted to green tomato pie and look forward to the time of year we can harvest green tomatoes to make green tomato pies. Hope you enjoy this version. It’s very easy and ummm so good!
Green Tomato Pie
2-3 Green tomatoes very thinly sliced
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped mild or hot banana peppers (I just use the sliced ones from a jar)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (low fat ok)
1/4 cup sour cream (low fat ok)
1 cup shredded cheese ( I use colby/jack or cheddar/jack)
1 Deep dish pie shell
Preheat oven to 350° Bake pie shell for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven let cool. Layer crust with sliced tomatoes, some chopped onion and chopped banana peppers. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat layers sprinkling each layer with salt and pepper. In bowl mix together mayonnaise, sour cream and cheese. Blend well. Spread over top of veggies and bake at 350° for 30 minutes or longer til crust is brown and topping is golden.
[...] Deep Dish Green Tomato Pie: I think you will be thrilled with one of these versions of a Tomato Pie. Yes, to complicate matters there are three versions of this Southern gem. Green Tomato Pie the sweet version that included some sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter or the Savory Tomato Pie or Summer Tomato Pie version using ripe tomatoes with basil, a cream sauce, and mozzarella or cheddar cheese. Ultimately, I decided on the Green Tomato Pie version, the one with just a few ingredients to highlight the taste of green tomatoes. It is also the version that sounded more Southern. Recipe found at A Yankee In A Southern Kitchen. [...]
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