Have some fun with the varieties of tomatoes and fresh herbs in this recipe. Mix and match to find your favorite flavor combination.
- 4 pounds assorted tomatoes, sliced ¼ inch thick and seeded
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- Cream Cheese Pie Dough (recipe follows)
- 3½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup chopped red onion
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Garnish: fresh basil, fresh dill
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 6 ounces cold cream cheese, cubed
- ¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 6 tablespoons ice water
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- Place tomato slices on paper towels; sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt all over slices. Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, patting dry with paper towels after 1 hour and again after 2 hours.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll Cream Cheese Pie Dough to a 16-inch circle. Transfer to a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, pressing into bottom and up sides. Trim excess dough 1 inch past sides of skillet. Fold edges of dough under, and crimp as desired. Freeze for 30 minutes.
- Position rack in bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 425°.
- Top pie dough with a piece of parchment paper, letting ends extend over edges of pan. Add pie weights.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Carefully remove parchment paper and weights. Bake until crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Leave oven on.
- In a large bowl, stir together 3 cups cheese, basil, mayonnaise, onion, egg, dill, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Spread half of cheese mixture into prepared crust. Layer half of tomato slices, overlapping as needed, on cheese mixture. Repeat layers. Cover edges of crust with foil.
- Bake until filling is browned and center is set, 45 to 55 minutes, sprinkling remaining ½ cup cheese onto pie during last 15 minutes of baking. Let cool for at least 1 hour on a wire rack before serving. Garnish with basil and dill, if desired.
- In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add cream cheese, and pulse until mixture is crumbly. Add butter; pulse 4 times.
- In a small bowl, combine 6 tablespoons ice water and vinegar. While pouring water mixture in a slow, steady stream into flour mixture, pulse until butter is pea-sized and dough holds together when pinched, about 6 times. Add dill; pulse 2 more times.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface, and shape into a disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days. If refrigerating for more than 1 hour, let dough stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling.
Classic Tomato Pie Step-by-Step
1. Gently press the dough together, and shape it into a disk. The addition of cream cheese makes the dough very easy to work with. Shaping the dough into a disk helps it roll out into an even circle.
2. After rolling out the dough, gently fold the dough in half, then again in half. This folding process makes transferring the dough to the skillet easy and helps to prevent the dough from tearing or cracking while moving it.
3. Gently place the folded dough in the skillet with the point of the fold in the center of the skillet. Unfold dough once, and adjust as needed to center the dough. Once centered, completely unfold the dough.
4. Let the dough drape into the bottom and up the sides of the skillet rather than stretching it to fit. Stretched dough will shrink as it bakes, which can cause cracking and breaking.
5. Using kitchen scissors, trim off excess dough that is about 1 inch past the edge of the skillet. Don’t toss the dough scraps, though. Bake them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet until golden brown to enjoy as a snack.
6. Folding the excess dough under helps create a neat, sturdy border and holds all the filling in place as the pie puffs and rises slightly as it bakes. The extra thickness of the crust also holds the crimp well.
7. To crimp dough, press an index finger on one hand on the inside edge of the dough while pressing the outside edge of the dough between your thumb and index finger on the other hand. You can also press the dough around the handle of a wooden spoon.
8. Line the pie dough with a large sheet of parchment paper, and fill with pie weights. If you don’t have pie weights, you can use dried beans or uncooked rice. You can use the beans and rice repeatedly for baking, but they cannot be cooked to eat once they’ve been baked.
9. Seeding the tomato slices is an important step to remove excess moisture. If the tomatoes aren’t seeded, the filling will separate and become watery, the crust will become soggy, and the slices will fall apart once the pie is cut.
10. Salting the tomato slices also draws out excess moisture and results in a sweeter, more intense tomato flavor. Pat both sides of slices dry, and brush off any excess salt so your final pie isn’t too salty.
11. Spread half the cheese mixture in the bottom of the partially baked crust. A spoon or offset spatula works great. Don’t worry about making the cheese mixture perfectly smooth and flat; everything will even out during baking.
12. Arrange the tomato slices on top of the cheese mixture, overlapping them as needed. Alternating the cheese and tomato layers helps bind everything together while baking and creates pretty layers.
