Tomato Pie

A few days ago, my friend, Sandy (who does my hair), begin telling me about tomato pie and how she was planning to make it that night for supper.  Well, I had never heard of tomato pie, even though I grew up eating delicious tomato sandwiches in the summertime.  She told me how she makes it, then told me that a photo of tomato pie was on the front of the Food Network magazine.  I picked up the magazine that afternoon and sure enough, there it was.  I looked at the recipe and wasn’t too thrilled about it, cause it seemed to have several ingredients that I didn’t have.  A few days later, my August Southern Living magazine came in and there were two recipes for tomato pie or tomato tart.  I made it last night.  My son, Kacey, and I tweaked the Southern Living recipe a bit by adding fresh basil, mushrooms and green bell pepper, along with more filling and another layer of tomatoes.  This is the result and is delicious, a great meatless dinner.

Tomato Pie
4 medium tomatoes, (red & yellow if possible)
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 C. mayo (I used olive oil mayo w/cracked pepper which is reduced fat)
2 T. fresh chopped basil
1 1/2 C. shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 C. fresh chopped mushrooms
1/4 c. green pepper
1. C. mozzarella cheese
sour cream pastry (recipe below)
*  You can use bought pie crust, as well

First slice tomatoes and place in a single layer on paper towels; sprinkle with salt.  Let stand 30 minutes. Pat dry with more paper towels on top.  Mix together mayo, basil, 1C. parmesan cheese, mushrooms, and green pepper. Set aside. After crust has baked 8-10 min. Sprinkle crust with the remaining 1/2 C. parmesan cheese and 1 C. mozzarella cheese.  Top this layer with one layer of sliced tomatoes. Then add the mayo – cheese mixture.  Spread evenly on top of tomato slices.  Then add one more layer of sliced tomatoes.  Top with fresh basil and bake 30-34 minutes.

Sour Cream Pastry
1 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. sour cream