Tomato Pie: It's a Thang

An old friend from college days wrote to me recently about a relative of hers down in South Carolina who made this killer tomato pie with lots of cheese and mayonnaise. It sounded vaguely familiar. And when I googled the recipe, I knew why: the combination of cheddar cheese and mayo looked a helluva lot like my pimento cheese concoction, even more so if you simply substitute fresh tomatoes for the roasted red bell peppers.Pimento cheese sandwiches here in our soul food kitchen do not fly off the shelves, to put it mildly. So I thought, what the hell, I’ll give it a try.

Someone once referred to tomato pie has pizza and cheesy bread making out in a pie crust. Typical colorful southern description, replete with sexual reference. In this case, though I think we are well beyond culinary foreplay. This dish rocks. It’s also pretty damn simple to make. (fresh tomatoes, lightly salted and drained, basil, chopped onion, cheddar, mayo, pimento, a bit of dijon mustard, cayenne, blind-baked pie shell.) I made a handful of mini pies, one for the house and the rest I figured I’d play by ear. And then, all of a sudden, a rush of orders came in just prior to the Israeli government announcing another COVID lock-down on the heels of the Jewish New Year. So I decided this was going to be my special thank-you gift with these orders, a bit of extra comfort food when we all seem to need more love.

I don’t think tomato pie is going to be a barn-burner here in Tel Aviv. That’s a shame. Nothing like pizza and cheesy bread making out to cure what ails ya.