Recipe: Herby Tomato Pie (vegetarian)

I’d not heard of tomato pie (‘mater pie) until moving to the south. A good tomato pie is sublime in its spare, ripe ingredients.

A typical tomato pie is loaded with creamy, mayonnaise (preferably Duke’s or Hellmann’s) and a hefty handful of cheddar cheese. This adds to the delicious nature, but also adds significant saturated fat and cholesterol. While I am not a member of the food police, if there is a way to lighten a recipe, without ruining it, I will endeavor to do just that.

Mixing equal parts full-fat mayo with fat free, plain Greek yogurt and reduced fat sour cream makes the pie silky, adding a very small amount of Gorgonzola piccante makes it salty and the herbs make the pie savory. Ripe, summer tomatoes make the pie perfect.

Tomato pie is best served on the day it is made. Refrigeration will not harm the flavor but will make the crust go soggy.

1 raw pie shell (homemade or store-bought)

1/2 small Vidalia or red onion, sliced very thin

2 twigs fresh thyme, leaves only

3 medium/large, heavy, super ripe tomatoes, sliced into 1/2 slices

Equal parts regular Duke’s or Hellmann’s mayo, fat-free plain Greek yogurt and reduced fat sour cream making 1/2 cup in total

1/2 cup chopped, fresh chives

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (less table salt)

2 ounces, good quality Gorgonzola piccante

1) Lightly salt the tomato slices and lay them on a couple of paper towels to draw out some of the liquid. Blind bake the pie shell at 375F for 10-15 minutes. As soon as it comes out of the ovem, scatter the onion slices in the pie shell along with the thyme leaves. Leave to cool as you mix up the mayo/yogurt/sour cream.

2) Mix the mayo/yogurt/sour cream with chives, garlic powder and salt. When the pie shell is room temp, layer in the tomato slices. Spoon the mayo mixture over top, then scatter small pieces of Gorgonzola. Bake about 20-30 minutes, until the top is golden in some parts.

Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

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