Kettler Tomato Pie

Tomato Season!!!

I don't really have a cute story to tell beyond the fact that we love tomato season in the Kettler house! We purchased about 5 lbs at the market with no plan on how to use them. We just walked around the market tasting all the tomatoes and couldn't stop buying them. 

One of my favorite recipes is a tomato pie - not the stereotypical Southern, mayo-loaded pie, but a fresh, basil-kissed one!

This is possibly the most simple "pie" to assemble, but the tricky part is getting the right tomatoes. If you use really ripe tomatoes, they will create so much juice during the cooking process that you end up with more of a soup than a pie. But if you get tomatoes that are not ripe enough, they are not sweet.

Look for something in between and if the pie has a lot of juice at the end of cooking, take a turkey baster and suck some out. Sounds weird, but it works!! 

And as always, a note on the crust. Store bought pie crust that is in the refrigerator or freezer section, is a great way to make this recipe EVEN easier. However, if you are one of those people that is totally against that, here is a reference for homemade pie crust.

Tomato Pie
Yields: 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

1 pie crust (either store bought or homemade) (substitute gluten free crust if allergies)

1 tsp olive oil

3-4 large tomatoes (can also add in a few yellow cherry tomatoes for color)

Fresh mozzarella ball

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper

Slice the tomatoes in evenly thick slices and lay them on a large plate side by side. Salt each side of the tomato slice and let this sit for about 30 minutes. This helps to drain some of the juices out of the tomatoes.

If you purchased a store bought crust, pull this out of the fridge and rest on the counter top for 30 minutes while the tomatoes drain. 

Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare all the cheeses and basil. Blind bake the crust for about 12 minutes. Drain the tomatoes and pat dry with a paper towel to discard as much juice as possible.

Assemble the pie right when the crust comes out:

Layer half of the Parmesan cheese on the bottom of the pie shell.

Add a layer of tomatoes.

Add a layer of mozzarella slices and fresh basil.

Repeat the layers (without Parmesan) until you run out of ingredients or space in the pie shell. Top with the remaining Parmesan cheese.

Bake in the 350F oven for 30 minutes until the cheese on top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the pie sit for about 10 minutes before slicing. If there is still a lot of juice in the pie from the tomatoes, use a turkey baster to suck it out. Be careful - it will be HOT!!