A friend passed me this recipe (thank you Shirley!) and it is OUTSTANDING! Substitutions were made it and it was a hit! Instead of using the full 3/4 cup of mayo, she made it with 1/2 plain yogurt and 1/2 mayo. I didn’t have any plain yogurt so I used about 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (non fat) and 1/4 cup Canola Oil Mayo. It still worked perfectly. For the cheese I used a little less than 1 cup of fresh mozzarella and the same amount of extra sharp cheddar. But you could mix any combination you like. Shirley used less cheese and it was unbelievably good!
I think it’s pretty important to squeeze the tomatoes out and pat dry with many, many paper towels. The only thing I didn’t use is Hot Sauce, and it’s only because I didn’t have any, I don’t think it needs it, but you be the judge!
The biggest thing is to use fresh tasty tomatoes, they make all the difference in the world! This is a beautiful dinner. Not light and healthy like you can eat every night, but great to have on occasion!
Notes: I used Pillsbury pie crust in the refrigerated section at the grocery store, that one never lets me down… I used 4 tomatoes (I originally had 4 cups chopped, it cooks down, so it was fine, but I have a deep dish pie plate, so that may be why?). For the mayo, you can substitute half Greek yogurt (or plain yogurt), experiment and try a little more each time. Next time I will use less cheese, don’t get me wrong, it was awesome like this, but…
RECIPE IS BELOW, but here is a recap:
First bake the pie crust. I poked it with a fork a few times to prevent it from bubbling up, some people put beans or other pie weights to hold it down… Once it’s out of the oven, sprinkle the chopped onion in the bottom.
Then add the chopped, squeezed, drained tomatoes, top with chopped basil, salt and pepper…
After you mix up the Mayo (or mayo/Greek yogurt) and cheese(s) together drop on top of the tomatoes…
Put it in the oven and wait (this is the hardest part of the entire recipe!)… ooooh, you won’t believe your tastebuds!
This recipe is from SimplyRecipes.com, you can click the link to go straight to their site to see the recipe, or scroll to bottom and click PRINT to print the recipe only.
Tomato Pie Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 1 9-inch pie shell (see pie crust recipe for homemade version)
- 1/2 yellow or red onion, chopped
- 3-4 tomatoes, cut in half horizontally, squeezed to remove excess juice, roughly chopped, to yield approximately 3 cups chopped tomatoes
- 1/4 cup sliced basil (about 8 leaves)*
- 2 cups grated cheese (combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, or Gruyere or Mozarella)
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) of Frank’s Hot Sauce (or Tabasco)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
*To slice basil, chiffonade them by stacking the leaves on top of each other, roll them up like a cigar, starting at one end slice the “cigar” crosswise in thin slices.
METHOD
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pie shell in oven and cook for 8-10 minutes or longer until lightly golden. If you are starting with a frozen crust, you’ll need to cook it a little longer. If you are using a homemade crust, freeze the crust first, then line the crust with aluminum foil and pre-bake it for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.
2 Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, using either paper towels, a clean dish towel, or a potato ricer.
3 Sprinkle the bottom of the pre-cooked pie shell with chopped onion. Spread the chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes.
4 In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, Tabasco, a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper. The mixture should be the consistency of a gooey snow ball. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes.
5 Place in oven and bake until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes.
Catch you back here tomorrow!
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