Tomato Pie

July 21, 2025

One of the advantages of having a garden is being able to step outside and pick fresh vegetables for the night’s dinner.  One of the disadvantages is trying to figure out what to do when large quantities of a particular vegetable ripen at the same time.  I have mentioned how I have plied family and friends with the bounty of my crops, along with taking several loads to the local food bank.  I have also learned to prepare, freeze, can, and preserve several different vegetables and even fruits.  Whether it is fresh or preserved, the real question becomes how is it going to be served?  There are always “go to” dishes that are the reason for a particular vegetable was grown, but having an abundance provides an opportunity to get creative.  That means when a new harvest happens, I pour over recipes on the internet searching for ideas.  Melissa has begun to cook meals more frequently.  While I tend to focus on the Midwestern meat n’ potato dishes I grew up with, Melissa falls back on her Southern heritage.  Several nights ago, she decided to make a Southern tomato pie.

When I went online, I found Southern tomato pie is a tomato dish popular in the Southern US (hence, the name).  The dish consists of a pie shell with a filling of tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), that are sometimes with basil or other herb), then covered with a topping of grated cheese mixed with either mayonnaise or a white sauce.  Tomato pie is considered a summer dish that is to be made when tomatoes are in season.  While tomato pie has its roots in Italian American cuisine, and particularly Philadelphia, it has become a popular and classic dish in the South during the summer months when tomatoes are at their peak.  Southern tomato pie is enjoyed both as a main course and a side dish, and is a staple at potlucks, picnics, and casual gatherings.  A sweet version called green tomato pie uses buttered and sugared green tomatoes, with a recipe dating at least as far back as 1877.  The taste of green tomato pie is comparable to green apple pie.  The sweet version is less common than the savory Southern tomato pie.  In the US, tomato pie may also refer to some types of pizza, like Sicilian pizza (originated in Sicily), Italian tomato pie (thick dough with tomato sauce on top).  In its simplest form, a Philly tomato pie is pizza with no cheese.

When Melissa told me she was going to make tomato pie for dinner, I had my doubts.  Not being from the South, I had never tried tomato pie and wondered about the taste of eating a bunch of baked tomatoes.  Being a meat n’ potato person, I also recognized there was no meat.  Still, this was a way to sample one of Melissa’s family dishes, and to take on the growing number of tomatoes sitting on our kitchen counter.  The pie starts with a baked pastry shell.  Several large beefsteak tomatoes (we used Cherokee Purple) are peeled, cut into thin slices, and layered in the shell.  Salt and pepper, basil, and chopped chives are sprinkled on the tomatoes to taste.  Mayonnaise (always Duke’s if truly Southern) and grated cheese are mixed and spread over the top.  The pie is popped into a pre-heated 400F (200.4C) oven and baked for 30 to 35 minutes.  The pie did look good and tasted better.

THOUGHTS: My trepidation around eating my first Southern tomato pie was mitigated when Melissa chose to make it a side dish, with the entrée being fried chicken strips, mashed potatoes, and gravy.  Knowing my protein was secure, I admitted the pie was good.  My Midwestern bent and Melissa’s Southern come from the comfort food we each grew up with.  The term comfort food can be traced back to 1615 (at least) where in the beginning of the second part of Don Quixote his niece and her nurse/governess are told “to give him things to eat which are comforting and appropriate for the heart and the brain.”  Comfort food provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to a person or a specific culture.  Sampling another’s comfort may also provide insight into their soul.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.