The best bbq sidedish ever!!!

I’ll have a couple of photos online tonight, so bear with me.

When I was on vacation in South Carolina, we ate at a great restaurant that served Gullah food (South Carolina Creole/Soul food).  I’d heard of this side dish, but it sounded horrible to me, but I thought I’d try it anyway: Tomato Pie.  I think I mentioned this once before, but I’ll share the recipe this time.  Actually, the woman that cooked it at the little place I first tried it had no qualms about telling me how to make it myself, so it’s really her recipe.

First, though, I’m still behind on some things, but the reason has been Woody, my dog.  I’ve been spending a lot of time with him just laying his head on my lap.  I may have more than a year with him, or something could happen at any time.  He is 14 years and 9 months old, and I’m trying to cherish the time I have with him now.

Anyway, on with the tomato pie…

The story has it that a woman on Edisto Beach, SC, had too many tomatoes back in the 70′s (this isn’t one of those old, old recipes, apparently).  She came up with Tomato Pie as a way to use up some of the excess.  And it’s pretty much what it sounds like… A pie made with tomatoes, but it’s a side dish, not a dessert pie.

There are 2 basic forms of tomato pie.  The most obvious is one that uses a crust; the other is to crumble crackers on top of the pie as a crust instead of having one under the pie.  If you use a crust, just prebake it at 400 for about 10 minutes prior to putting the pie together.

The way I’ve made it so far (though I’m going to try the bottom crust, too), is to do the cracker thing.  I’ve used saltines, and I found out yesterday that I also like Club brand crackers a lot for it.

Now on to the recipe, and not a moment too soon, as tomato season is getting into full swing!

For a 9" pie plate, use 4-5 medium sized tomatoes.  Don’t use Roma tomatoes, as they don’t have the right texture for the finished pie.  Peel the tomatoes (you can parboil for about a minute to help peel them easier), then slice them into medium to thin slices.  Lay the slices on paper towels with a bit of salt to help get out the water from the tomatoes… They can drain for a good 15 minutes, but make sure there are plenty of paper towels under to keep soaking up the moisture.

Once the tomatoes are drained, lay the slices in the bottom of the pie plate, making a layer of about1 1/2 inches.  On top of the tomatoes, add black pepper, basil (fresh or dried would work.. if fresh, cut it in a chiffonade), oregano, tarragon, and a bit of sugar. 

Take 1 1/2-2 cups of grated mild cheddar cheese and add to it half that much real mayonaise.  Sorry, this takes the real stuff.  Mix that together so that the cheese is spreadable on top of the tomato pie.  Spread it on as evenly as possible, covering the tomatoes completely.  Then add crushed crackers in a thin layer on top of the cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (a few extra minutes won’t hurt, though).  Take it out and let it set up for a few minutes, then serve.  If you didn’t get enough water out of the tomatoes, the bottom may be watery, which is one reason the crackers on top work well with this; they don’t sit in the watery stuff and get soggy!

I think you’ll agree, once you try it, that tomato pie and barbecue are meant to be together!  This is also a very easy recipe to scale since you don’t really measure much of anything.  For larger groups, use a disposable aluminum pan or a roasting pan, line it with a 1 1/2" thick layer of tomatoes, season, add enough cheese and mayo (remember 2 parts cheese to 1 part mayo), spread breadcrumbs on top, and bake. 

If you try this, I’d really like to hear your reaction!