Tomato Pie

This Tomato Pie recipe has been showing up in my dreams for the past few years since I first saw it shared by chef Vivian Howard on PBS’s A Chef’s Life. This recipe is so delicious, with its long roasted onions and two preparations of tomatoes, infused with basil and spice and topped with a creamy cheese sauce. It's so worth the time to roast your tomatoes and cook your onions for the amount of time Chef Vivian suggests. It gives the tastiest flavors.

    For the Filling 

• 3 cups diced and drained fresh tomatoes 
• 4 cups diced and roasted tomatoes
• 1 cup caramelized onions 
• 1/2 cup picked basil 
• salt
• pepper
• sugar 
• For the Topping 
• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano 
• 1/3 cup grated Fontina
• 1/2 cup mayo 
• 1 pie crust

    Directions

1. For the diced and drained tomatoes 

Seed and dice about 3 cups fresh, high-quality tomatoes. Toss them with a little kosher salt and sugar. Set over a colander while you prepare the remaining ingredients if possible. If not, drain for a minimum of an hour. You should be left with about 2 cups of tomato. 

2. For the roasted tomatoes 

Seed and dice 4 cups fresh, high quality tomatoes. Toss them with olive oil (at C&F we use garlic oil), plenty of kosher salt, and several sprigs of thyme. Spread this mix out on a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. You want the tomatoes to be dry and slightly caramelized, but not burned around the edges. You should be left with about 2 cups of roasted tomato.

3. For the Onions

Peel and slice (with the grain) 4 medium yellow onions. In a large sauté pan, heat 1/4 cup butter. Add the onions and season them with salt. Let the onions simmer and become juicy. Once the situation becomes a bit drier and much of the onion liquid has cooked out, turn down the heat, to its lowest setting and settle in for a long, slow caramelize. To get these onions where they need to be, it could take about 2 hours. You are looking for a medium brown, sweet caramelization. 

4. To Assemble the Filling

Combine the onions, fresh tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, basil, salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Keep in mind, tomatoes take a lot of seasoning to really make them shine in applications like this. 

5. To Bake and Serve

Spread the filling over the bottom of a blind-baked crust. Flatten the topping between wax paper or use your good ol’ hands to create a 1/3 inch thick round of delicious, cheesy topping that spreads nearly to the edges of the pie. Bake at 375 degrees until the top is nicely browned...20-25 minutes. Serve at just over room temperature.