TOMATO BASIL PIE SOUTHERN STYLE WITH BACON

OMG, I promise you I am not lying when I say this is beyond amazing.  I made it by adapting 2 online recipes and then again adapted to exactly what I wanted.  

My husband just had his 50th birthday and he would not tell me anything special to fix him for dinner.  So, I made a few things.  Not just one thing because I had invited a few select friends over to have a beer with him but this was a hit along with mini crab cakes and some sushi.   

I am happy to say it was a wonderful hit and I even had 2 people take some home and one person who does not like tomatoes try it.  Even better one of our friends, Dave, that took a piece home has since text me telling me how great it was and by far better than anyone he had ever had before and he liked those.  He just called and I gave him my recipe.  He just left the house with homegrown tomatoes, basil, and some white sharp cheddar cheese.  

Let me say it is tomato season so this recipe will be much better if you have access to garden tomatoes and even better if you can get heirloom varieties.  Fresh basil is a must for the recipe.  Thank goodness I grow my own.  Which reminds me I really need to make pesto this week.  

I did not take pictures of every step but I will be making this again and I will add photos when I do.

First, you need to slice your tomatoes and salt to sweat some juice out of the tomatoes.  I used garlic salt and put mine on a cooling rack with paper towels under the rack.  You need to salt both sides.  Allow sitting at least 30 minutes then blot dry with a few paper towels. 

Prebake your pie crust.  This will help with the wetness of the recipe.  You, still will not have a crunchy bottom.  When I take my pie crust out I put in some shredded mozzarella cheese and allow it to melt so this helps with sealing the bottom of the pie crust as well.

In the meantime wash and chop your basil.

Put together garlic powder, dried oregano and crushed red pepper flakes in a small bowl.

Shred 2 cups of cheese.  I used 1 cup white sharp cheddar and 1 cup yellow sharp cheddar.  Place in a bowl and add 1/4 cup of mayonnaise to fold into cheese.

I always cook my bacon in the oven and keep pre-cooked bacon on hand.  You need 4 pieces of crisp bacon.  Just chop those pieces up to use later in the pie.

Layer half of your tomatoes on the bottom of the crust.  Spread fresh basil and the spice mixture on top.  Make one more layer of tomatoes, then bail and finish with the spice mix.  This is when you add your bacon.  Just toss it on top of the spices.  Spread your cheese mixture on top of this and then add 3 to 4 slices of tomato and push down into the cheese mixture.  

Cook covered with foil for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  When time is up take off foil and cook another 15 to 20 minutes to allow cheese mixture to melt.  

TOMATO BASIL PIE SOUTHERN STYLE WITH BACON

Ingredients

• 1 deep dish pie crust
• 4 slices of cooked bacon
• 4 medium size tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup shredded white sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded yellow sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

Directions

• Pre-cook pie crust.  Take out and add shredded mozzarella to the top.  You want just enough to coat the bottom.  It might be a bit less then 1/4 cup.  Melt cheese in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Slice tomatoes and salt with garlic salt place on a cooling rack with paper towels under it and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes.  Then blot as dry as you can get them.
• Chop basil leaves.
• Mix together garlic powder, pepper flakes, and dried oregano into a small bowl.  
• Shredded cheeses mix together and add mayo and fold into cheese.
• Cook 4 slices of bacon crisp and cut or chop into bite size pieces.
• Add half of the tomatoes to the bottom of the pie crust, top with 1/2 chopped basil and 1/2 of the spice mix.  Add rest of the tomatoes on top and then add rest of the basil and spice mix on top.  Add bacon to top and then spread the cheese mixture on top of bacon.  Add 3 to 4 slices of tomatoes on top and push into the cheese.
• Bake at 350 covered in aluminum foil for 30 minutes.  Take off foil and cook 15 to 20 minutes more to allow cheese topping to melt.  
• Cool and serve.

ENJOY!!

UPDATE

As I mentioned above our friend, Dave, made this for his wife.  At one time Dave was a chef, so for him to tell me how much he loved this recipe and it was the best one he has ever had was truly a pleasure.  Maybe even for a bit my head was big.  Well, not for long though.  He was kind enough to take and send me pictures of his tomato pie.  I have been neglectful and not posted them yet.  

Here is one that he plated.