Tomato Pie is a great way to use up an abundance of tomatoes from your garden. This easy fresh recipe is baked in a pie crust and covered with cheddar and ricotta cheese. It’s tasty served warm or cold. It tastes like a pizza meets casserole – it’s delicious!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Press pie crust in a 9 inch pie dish that's been sprayed with nonstick spray. Using a fork, gently press a few holes in the bottom and sides. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Peel 5 cloves garlic and finely chop it. Sprinkle salt to cover top of the garlic, and then carefully press down with the side of the knife to turn the garlic into a paste. The salt acts as an abrasive and helps turn it into a paste. Once garlic is smooth and creamy, spread out on the bottom of the pie crust.
Thinly slice the tomatoes and place in a single layer on top of paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 10 minutes. During this time the tomatoes will release their moisture, and this will prevent the pie from turning soggy. This is a important step – please don’t skip it! Using a paper towel, dab the top of the tomatoes gently to remove any extra moisture.
Arrange half of the tomatoes in the pie crust, overlapping so they cover it.
Add half of basil on top of the tomatoes.
Add half of the shredded cheese on top of the basil.
Repeat again with tomatoes, basil and shredded cheese. Save 3-4 tomato slices for next step.
Spread ricotta cheese on top of the pie. Place remaining slices of tomatoes on top.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and brush butter on top of crust. Bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven allow to cool for 10 minutes. Garnish with additional fresh basil on top for presentation before serving.