Simply Tomato Pie

I have made a lot of tomato tarts this year.

Elra's delicious ricotta tomato tart in puff pastry and my easy French tomato tart w/ Gruyere and mustard.

However, I have always wanted to try this Southern style tomato pie with mayo and cheddar cheese.

Elise posted this recipe and someone wrote in her comment section "can I skip the mayo? I am on a diet."
Her answer was "nope, mayo is an important ingredient in this recipe".

Good answer.
If you are on a diet, then save this one for when you can spare the calories because this is rich!!!!

I made a few minor changes to Elise's recipe.
I used a little less mayo and I sauteed the onions instead of throwing them in raw.



Tomato Pie (adapted from Simply Recipes):

~ one 9-inch pie shell (I made my own pastry from Simply Recipes)

~ 2 small yellow onions, sliced
~ 3-4 tomatoes, cut in half horizontally, squeezed to remove excess juice, roughly chopped, to yield approximately 3 cups chopped tomatoes (*I used plum tomatoes, since they have a lower moisture content)
~ 1/4 cup sliced basil
~ 2 cups grated cheese (combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, or Gruyere or Mozzarella)
~ 1/2 cup Hellman's REAL mayonnaise (original recipe calls for 3/4 cup)
~ 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) of Frank's Hot Sauce (or Tabasco)
~ salt and freshly ground black pepper



Preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll your pie crust out and fit into a 9" glass pie dish.
(Make sure you are working with cold dough or freeze it for a few minutes before baking).
Bake for 10 minutes until the crust is turning a light golden color.

While your pie crust is baking, saute the onions in a little olive oil until translucent. Set aside.

Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, using either paper towels, a clean dish towel, or a potato ricer.
*(Since I used plum tomatoes, I skipped this step, because they have a low moisture content).

Sprinkle the bottom of the pre-cooked pie shell with the cooked onions. Spread the chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes.



In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, Tabasco, a sprinkling of salt and freshly ground black pepper. The mixture should be the consistency of a gooey snow ball. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes.



Place in oven and bake until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 40 minutes.



This was a little rich for my blood, but I skipped dessert and went right for a second slice!