Gina’s Summer Tomato Pie

I made one of these last night AND the night before.    I also plan to make another one this weekend.  I love this pie so much we’re going to be eating a lot of them this summer which will make my husband very happy.

When I first looked at the ingredients I was surprised by how few there were.   I also didn’t think that something so simple could be so tasty, but I was wrong.

Although this pie was delicious, the presentation was marginal at best.   Both times, the cheese leaked out of the pie crust.   Not sure why, but since I used a rimless baking sheet, some of the cheese dripped onto the bottom of the oven and smoked.   Thank goodness I made these on Shelter Island where the kitchen has a couple of windows.  It would have been a disaster in my NY apartment.   Despite the leaky cheese, I’ll make this again and again.

I recommend that you use parchment paper when making this.   I didn’t use it the first time I made it, and the pie crust stuck to the cookie sheet a bit.  When I made this I couldn’t find yellow tomatoes.   Red worked just fine.

Gina’s Summer Tomato Pie
Recipe from The Neely’s on foodnetwork.com

Flour, for dusting work surface
1 (9-inch) ready-made refrigerated rolled pie crust
2 large yellow tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 red tomato, sliced 1/4-inch thick
8 ounces mozzarella, sliced
1/4 cup chiffonade basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sprinkle flour on a work surface. Roll out pie dough to form a 10-inch circle and place on parchment paper. Overlap and alternate the different tomatoes and mozzarella slices in the center of the dough, leaving a 3-inch border. Scatter the basil leaves on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and red pepper flakes. Fold the uncovered edges of the dough inward over the filling to create a pleated crust. Brush edges and top of pie with olive oil.

Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven to a cutting board. Slice and serve.

Yield:  4 servings