Bless Her Heart

There are several foods that are supposedly essential to Southern cuisine, but this Mississippi girl has never even heard of…much less eaten or cooked.

For example, I didn’t know that Chicken and Waffles was a real thing until our favorite place to go eat breakfast added them to their menu.

I recently ran across a list of 10 foods that unique to the Deep South…

These foods are…

• Ambrosia Salad
• Chitlins
• Chocolate Gravy
• Fried chicken gizzards
• Koolickles (dill pickles soaked in cherry Kool-Aid)
• Pickled pig’s feet
• Pimento and Cheese
• Souse
• Tomato pie
• Watermelon rind pickles

From this list, only three were part of my family’s “normal” diet – ambrosia salad…pimento and cheese…and watermelon pickles.

As far as pimento and cheese, I think that my Mom put a pimento and cheese sandwich in my lunchbox for the entire twelve years that I was in school.

That’s a lot of pimento and cheese sandwiches.

Some of these foods sound too disgusting to even think about eating – chitlins, pickled pig’s feet, souse.

I may have to try chocolate gravy and Koolickles pretty soon…

And growing up we never had fried chicken gizzards, but I absolutely love fried chicken livers…and will eat as many as you put on a plate before me (as long as they are warm).

Also, while we were growing up in the back of the backwoods of Mississippi, we never had tomato pie…

Tomato pie is supposedly a classic summer staple in the Deep South during those summer months when fresh, juicy tomatoes are a dime a dozen.

Tomato pie can also be referred to as Alabama Tomato Pie…Amish Tomato Pie…Kentucky Tomato Pie…and is also said to be popular in states like Georgia and North Carolina,

Perhaps that explains why this Mississippi girl had never heard of it until working on this series of Southern foods that use tomatoes as the main ingredient.

After all, Mississippi is more known for more decadent foods – such as our Mississippi Mud Pie and Mississippi Roast.

So what is tomato pie?

Tomato pie obviously contains tomatoes, but what exactly is tomato pie(?!)…

Tomato pie consists of a flaky piecrust filled with delicioustomatoes, tons of melted cheese, caramelized Vidalia onions, fresh basil… finished with a creamy, cheesy topping.

Too many truly “Southern ingredients” not to be totally delicious.

And what exactly are the ingredients in Tomato Pie?

There are four essential parts to a tomato pie:

• The Cheese
• The Crust
• The Tomatoes
• The Sauce

The Cheese

The goal here is to create a cheesy, ooey gooey layer of cheese. Pecorino Romano: 

To create the richest, most cohesive and most flavorful filling, use a blend of three cheeses in the filling. 

Mozzarella is the best cheese as far as its melting ability, but mozzarella is actually pretty flavorless. Fontina is another cheese that melts beautifully.

So you’ll also want to use another type of cheese or two with more flavor – such as a sharp cheddar.

Just like when we made grilled cheese sandwiches, the best cheese to buy is not the pre-shredded cheese that comes in bags.

Even though this cheese is definitely more convenient, the cheese will not have the best flavor or texture.

And the final food can never be as good as the ingredients that you used to make it.

The Crust

You will need a 9” pie crust, but not a deep-dish crust.

If you’re ambitious to make your own, more power to you.

I’ve been cooking for almost 45 years and have never even tried to make my own pie crust.

When shopping for a pie crust, look in the freezer section for an actual pie crust in an aluminum pan. These pie crusts are better at holding their shape while they are cooked.

Thaw the pie crust and then bake according to the directions on the package.

The Tomatoes

Any variety of tomato can work – Campari tomatoes, coloful heirloom tomatoes, plum tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, standard

If possible, however, avoid using those sad plastic-packed supermarket. Opt for the freshest tomatoes that you can find…like from the local farmers market, your own backyard or perhaps even from Mr. McGregor’s garden.

In fact, beefsteak tomatoes might be your best option because they remain firm while baking.

The Sauce

Perhaps the sauce is what makes tomato pie, tomato pie.

Without the sauce, you’d simply have a store-bought pie crust, some cheese that might taste better in a simple grilled  cheese sandwich and some tomatoes that might as well be eaten in a BLT.

But the herbs, particularly fresh basil and thyme, give the tomato pie a savory, more delicious flavor.

And the mayo..(make sure that it’s Duke’s)…adds a thick and tangy taste to the tomato pie…not to mention that Duke’s is a key ingredient in almost all Southern cooking – kinda like bacon and sour cream…

If Duke’s isn’t available where you live, then bless your heart. In fact, if you don’t have Duke’s mayo available, you might wanna use sour cream instead.

And the Dijon mustard also contribute to that savory, tangy flavor.

And the onion and garlic are pretty much expected in any Southern main dish or side dish…just like the expect salt and pepper.

• ½C grated mozzarella cheese
• ½X grated sharp cheddar cheese
• ⅓C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 9” pie crust
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¼C freshly chopped basil leaves
• ½tsp dried thyme
• ¾C Duke’s mayonnaise
• 1Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Vidalia or other sweet yellow onion, thinly sliced
• ¾tsp salt
• ¼tsp pepper
• ¾ teaspoon sugar
• 5 tomatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

Prepare crust: Taking time to bake the pie crust first keeps the crust from becoming soggy.

To do this, first preheat your oven to 350°F.

Remove the pie crust from the freezer.

Thaw for 10min, until just soft enough to easily prick with a fork.

Use a fork to prick holes into the bottom and sides of the crust.

Line the crust with parchment. Place pie weights or dried beans into the pie plate.

Bake 15min, until the edges are a pale golden color.

Remove the parchment and weights.

Bake 10min, until the crust is golden brown.

Transfer the baked crust to a wire rack.

Let cool for 30min, until the crust is at room temperature.

Salt the tomatoes: Salting the tomatoes draws excess liquid out of the tomatoes and keeps the crust of the tomato pie from getting soggy.

Line a baking sheet with a few layers of paper towels. 

Slice the tomatoes. Place tomatoes in a single layer on the paper towel-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the tomato slices with salt.

Let stand 30min, flipping the tomatoes occasionally.

Pat the tomatoes thoroughly dry with fresh paper towel before assembling the tomato pie.

Sauté onions: Heat 1Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Once the olive oil is hot, sauté the onion, salt and pepper for 6min, until the onion is tender. Transfer the cooked onion to a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside to cool completely.

Make the topping: Stir together the mayonnaise, cheese, basil, salt, pepper, egg and cooked onions in a large bowl.

—Assemble pie: Layer the tomatoes, onion, and herbs in prepared crust, seasoning each layer with pepper. Spoon the cheese mixture over the layers. Spread it out evenly into a thin even layer.

(At this point you could sprinkle crushed Ritz crackers or breadcrumbs across the top, Honestly, I think that this completely changes the texture of the entire dish…so I never do it. But knock yourself out,)

Bake: Bake 30min at 350°F, until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.

If the edges of the crust darken too quickly, place aluminum foil or a pie shield around the edges of the crust to keep the crust from burning.

Serve: Once the tomato pie has finished baking, do not slice into it…as tempting as that might be.

Instead, let the tomato pie cool for at least 15 minutes first. Some cooks even suggest waiting an entire hour.

Waiting will help the filling set and make the tomato pie easier to slice. If you cut into the pie while it’s still too hot, you will end up dishing out molten cheese and blobs of tomato.

Even after an hour, your tomato pie will still have a warm, soft cheese filling, but will be firm enough to hold its shape when sliced and cool enough to enjoy without burning the roof of your mouth.

Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

To store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to three days. Enjoy at room temperature or warm. To reheat: bake at 325°F for about 20min.