Tomato Pie

Wait wait wait.  Don't be turned off by the name Tomato Pie.  I have thought long and hard about a new name for this, because every time I tell someone about my Tomato Pie people are automatically turned off because they think pies should be sweet.  But I really can't think of what else to call it.  I could call it deep dish pizza, but it's really not at all, so I hate to call it that.  This is my Nana's recipe and this is what she always called it so I will continue to call it that as well.  Just humor me and try it before you pass any judgement, because it's amazing deliciousness.

Tomato Pie
Makes 8 servings
Start to finish: 60 minutes

1 refrigerated pie crust
1/3 cup pesto
2 medium sized onions, sliced
6 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
6 large roma tomatoes
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup romano cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 dozen fresh basil leaves
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

Start by rolling out your refrigerated pie crust into a greased deep dish pie pan.  Pre-bake your crust as directed on the package, though don't let it brown very much.

Chop the onions into half-rings and mince the garlic.

Bring one tablespoon of oil up to medium high heat and then add the onions, garlic, salt, pepper and one teaspoon of the Italian seasoning.  Brown them to the early stage of caramelization.

When the pie crust is out of the oven, spread pesto across the bottom.  Then pile on the onions.  Slightly pack them down. (Make sure your oven is now set to 450 if it wasn't already when you pre-baked your crust)

Sprinkle on the three cheeses and another teaspoon of seasoning.

Layer on the basil leaves.

Next, slice your tomatoes.

Now, there has been some trial and error in this department so allow me to explain what to do and not do.  First of all, I tried making this with a mixture of regular and Roma tomatoes.  Don't do this.  Use only Roma tomatoes.  They are meatier, with less liquid, which will keep your pie from becoming soggy.  Second, it's probably best that you quarter your Roma tomatoes into wedges.  You will see that I cut mine into half inch slices.  This is very pretty BUT, when you go to cut your pie it becomes a disaster as it is difficult to slice through the tomatoes.  If you do wedges, they are narrow enough that you can cut slices without ever having to actually slice a tomato in the process.  Go figure, my Nana's recipe instructs you to do wedges and use Roma tomatoes.  Silly me for thinking I knew better.

But I digress.  Once you have sliced up your tomatoes, layer them in a pinwheel type pattern, starting at the outside and working your way in.

Sprinkle the last teaspoon of Italian seasoning over the top.

Bake this pie for 20 minutes at 450 degrees.  Depending on how long you pre-baked your crust, it may be done.  If not, turn on your broiler and watch it until the pie is golden brown.  The tomatoes should show signs of wrinkling.

As tempting as it may be, you need to let this pie cool so that it can set up.  If you slice it too soon, just like any other pie, all the insides will ooze out.

Eat this just like you would pizza.

Look at those beautiful layers.