Italian Style Heirloom Tomato Pie

Our Italian Style Heirloom Tomato Pie combines the rich, buttery goodness of a flaky homemade crust, with layers of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil. Baked to crisp and golden perfection, this pie is perfect as a light dinner, or as a hardy side to the main course. As delicious as it is elegant, and using only simple ingredients, every home cook should have this pie in their repertoire.

The homemade crust is the star of the show here. The buttery flavor melds deliciously with the fresh basil and mozzarella cheese, and really soaks up the flavors of the tomato mixture beautifully, while the sprinkled parmesan forms a nice coating over the latticing. However, as delicious as this pie is, the best part is that once you have the process down for making the crust, the rest of the recipe is a breeze.

Now, without further introduction, let’s get to it.

Italian Style Heirloom Tomato PiePhoto byLiving the Gourmet

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter (one stick), grated
• 1 egg
• 3/4 to 1 cup of cold water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1 egg beaten for eggwash

Filling for the Pie:

• 2 firm heirloom tomatoes
• 3 - 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 5 - 6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 tbs. capers
• 1 cup of breadcrumbs
• 1 medium-sized red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tbs. olive oil and more for drizzling
• 4 oz. mozzarella, shredded
• 1/2 cup of Parmesan or Romano cheese, grated

Instructions

For the crust:

1. Add the salt, black pepper, and grated cheese to the flour and toss.
2. Grate the butter and add to the flour and toss.
3. Beat the egg with 3/4 cup of cold water add to the flour mixture and form into a ball.
4. If the flour mixture is not coming together add a little more water.
5. Refrigerate for about 1 hour or more.

Filling and Assembly:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
2. Gently heat a large cast iron pan and add the cup of breadcrumbs.
3. Drizzle the breadcrumbs with the olive oil and toss. Be sure to watch over the breadcrumbs so that they do not burn but rather become a beautiful golden color.
4. Place the sliced onion in a large bowl and add the capers, toasted breadcrumbs, garlic, basil, and grated Parmesan cheese and toss.
5. Slice the tomatoes to 1/4 inch thickness.
6. Cut the dough in half.
7. Roll out one half of the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness and place in a 9-inch pie dish. Polk the bottom with a fork.
8. Place in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes to gently bake the crust.
9. Remove from the oven and build the pie.
10. Place some onion mixture, followed by the grated mozzarella followed by the tomatoes. Repeat this process until the ingredients are used up. Drizzle the pie with one or two tbs. of olive oil.
11. Save a bit of the mozzarella for the top of the pie.
12. Roll out the other half of the dough and lattice the top of the pie.
13. Brush the pie top with the eggwash, followed by the extra mozzarella.
14. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the pie is a beautiful golden color.

**If you enjoyed today's recipe, visit Living the Gourmet for more easy and delicious meals!