Italian Style Heirloom Tomato Pie

Our Italian Style Heirloom Tomato Pie combines the rich, buttery goodness of a flaky homemade crust, with layers of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil. Baked to crisp and golden perfection, this pie is perfect as a light dinner, or as a hardy side to the main course. As delicious as it is elegant, and using only simple ingredients, every home cook should have this pie in their repertoire.

The homemade crust is the star of the show here. The buttery flavor melds deliciously with the fresh basil and mozzarella cheese, and really soaks up the flavors of the tomato mixture beautifully, while the sprinkled parmesan forms a nice coating over the latticing. However, as delicious as this pie is, the best part is that once you have the process down for making the crust, the rest of the recipe is a breeze.

Now, without further introduction, let's get to it.

What to Expect - Recipe Overview

All right, you've made it this far and are still reading. That means you probably have a few questions - perhaps you're wondering what this recipe tastes like, or how hard it is to make? Or maybe you're wondering if this recipe is make ahead-friendly or what the process is like, or what it pairs well with?

For the answer to those questions and more, read on.

Taste and Texture:
The pie starts with a homemade crust, which should bake up rich, buttery, and flaky, with a lovely golden hue. However, it's what is inside the crust that makes the pie. Between slices of fresh heirloom tomatoes, we layer mozzarella and parmesan cheese, with fresh basil, capers, and toasted breadcrumbs. This creates a delicious combination of cheesy goodness, a hint of sweetness from the basil, and some savory brininess from the capers, carried on the flaky, buttery crust.

Difficulty Level:
Moderate. I won't call this recipe hard, but I cannot call it easy either. Making pie crust from scratch can indeed be a bit involved, as you'll have to grate butter, form the dough, chill it, and then prebake it. That said, this process should be simple enough for most home cooks with some baking experience. The filling, meanwhile, is simple enough to prepare - and can you think of it essentially as making a pizza.

Preparation Process:
While this recipe isn't complicated, the process is 'a bit of a process,' involving several steps that simply cannot be skipped or glossed over. For example, you can't skip or streamline grating the butter, since this ensures even distribution through the dough, which in turn ensures the dough bakes up flaky. Giving the dough time to chill in the fridge, likewise, cannot be skipped. Similarly, if you skip prebaking the dough, it will become soggy during baking. And all of that occurs before we've even begun with the tomato filling. That said, none of these steps are difficult or complicated, but the process can indeed be a process.

Make Ahead:
This pie is a great make-ahead recipe, as it can sit in the fridge for about three days, tastes great cold, and is a breeze to heat up in the oven. Just pop it in the oven for a few minutes at three-fifty, or in the toaster oven for a few minutes on medium, and you're good to go.

Storage:
You can leave it in the pie plate and cover it with either cling wrap or aluminum foil and it will keep like that in the fridge for a few days. Alternatively, you can seal the pie in an airtight container and it should keep for about five days. I would not recommend freezing it.

Pairings:
I would recommend serving this pie as a dinner side with seared steaks or a Sunday roast. This pie can also serve as a light main course alongside leafy green salads, light pasta dishes, or even as a starter with charcuterie. As a wine pairing, consider a decent pinot grigio or a chardonnay.

Ingredient Checklist - Everything You'll Need

As mentioned above, this recipe uses only simple, affordable ingredients that are readily available at your local supermarket.

With that in mind, here's everything you'll need to prepare today's recipe.

For the Crust:

• 3 cups flour
  • Tip: All-purpose flour is all we're looking for here.
  • Substitution: Your gluten-free flour of choice will also work just fine.
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), grated
  • Note: As mentioned above, we're grating the butter to ensure even distribution through the dough.
  • Tip: I recommend using chilled butter as it is easier to work with, and will help achieve a flaky crust (more on this below).
  • Substitution: Your dairy-free butter of choice can indeed work, but be sure it has a fat content similar to butter, as it is the butter's fat that makes the crust flaky and textured.
• 1 egg
  • Note: Helps to bind the dough together, and also adds fat.
• 3/4 to 1 cup cold water
  • Tip: Add the water gradually, and add no more than you need to form the dough. Too much water means a soggy dough.
  • Note: I do suggest using ice water. The colder the water, the flakier the crust. And yes, that means that chilling the dough in the fridge also helps to achieve a flaky crust (more on this below).
• 1 tsp. salt
  • Note: Plain table salt is all we're looking for here.
• 1 tsp. black pepper
  • Tip: For a bit of earthy and savory depth.
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
  • Note: Adds savory depth and a bit of saltiness to the crust.
  • Substitution: Feel free to use any hard, aged grating cheese for this. What we're looking for is the savory, salty notes of the cheese.
• 1 egg (beaten, for egg wash)
  • Note: Works to give the crust a golden finish. I would 'not' suggest omitting the egg wash, as it also helps to crisp the exterior of the crust.

For the Filling:

• 2 firm heirloom tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
  • Substitution: Any large, firm tomatoes will work. Again, the large, firm slices are key.
• 3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • Note: While I consider the garlic a key ingredient, feel free to adjust it based on your preference.
• 5-6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • Note: Adds a sweet anise flavor and a bit of color to the pie.
  • Substitution: Parsley or cilantro will work, though I do think basil brings the best flavor to this recipe.
• 1 tbsp. capers
  • Tip: Do 'not' rinse your capers. I don't know how or why this trend started. On their own, capers are bitter. Full stop. There is 'nothing' palatable about un-brined capers. The flavor of capers 'is' the brine. The salty, tangy, slightly acidic notes of the brine 'is' what capers bring to a recipe. This is why recipes so often call for a spoon of caper juice.
  • Note: This brine flavor melds beautifully with all sorts of Mediterranean cuisine. That brininess complements things like garlic and herbs, charcuterie, hard cheeses, and herbed meats. To fully enjoy your capers, stop rinsing them and instead use the brine to its fullest.
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • Tip: Toasted breadcrumbs add texture to the filling.
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
  • Tip: For a bit of color and subtle sweetness.
  • Substitution: Sweet or white onions would also get the job done.
• 2 tbsp. olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
  • Note: Skip the cooking oil and opt for a decent olive oil in this instance. You want the flavor of the olive oil to come through in the breadcrumbs.
• 4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Tip: I don't generally recommend using fresh mozzarella in cooked recipes, as all of the subtle nuances that 'make' fresh mozzarella are generally lost through cooking.
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
  • Tip: As above, we're using parmesan to bring a bit of savory and salty depth to the filling.

Additional:

• Sesame seeds (optional) for garnish
  • Note: Purely for garnish.

Tips for Making a Homemade Pie Crust

The crust is the star of the show in my opinion, so getting it just right matters. Here are a few tips for doing exactly that.

1. Cold Ingredients
   • Cold butter: Use your butter or shortening straight from the fridge. Do not let it warm at all before using it. Sometimes I will even use frozen butter, and grate that into the dough. What this does is it creates pockets of fat that in turn lead to a flaky crust.
   • Cold water: Using cold water lowers the overall temperature of the dough, which in turn helps to prevent the butter from melting into the flour.
2. Don't Overwork the Dough
   • Mix minimally: Mix the dough only until the butter and flour are combined while adding only enough water to bring the dough together. Overmixing or overworking the dough will add too much air into the batter, which will result in a hard, dry crust.
   • Grating butter: As mentioned above, grating the butter into the dough frozen is also a great way to achieve a flaky crust, not only does the frozen butter resist melting, but it also ensures a maximally even distribution through the dough.
3. Chill the Dough
   • Refrigerate before rolling: Once the dough has come together, form it into a ball, as described in the recipe card, and then let it chill in the fridge. Why? Chilling the dough helps to firm up the fat, making it easier to roll, while also preventing shrinkage during baking.
4. Roll Evenly
   • Roll from the center out: To keep the dough even, roll from the center outwards in all directions. Rotate the dough as you go to maintain a round shape.
   • Dust with flour: Sprinkle the surface lightly with flour to prevent sticking, but don't use too much, or the dough can dry out.
5. Prevent Sogginess
   • Blind baking: For pies with juicy fillings (and that includes today's tomato pie), you want to prebake (blind bake) the crust for about ten to fifteen minutes right before adding the filling. This prevents the bottom of the pie from becoming soggy.
6. Add Flavor to the Dough
   • Cheese or herbs: For savory pies, such as today's, that means incorporating ingredients like grating cheese, herbs, or spices directly into the dough. No one wants a bland, tasteless dough.
   • Sweet crusts: For dessert pies, adding flavor usually means a bit of sugar or seasonings such as cinnamon or nutmeg.
7. Use Pie Weights
   • Weights: You do 'not' want the crust to puff up during blind baking (prebaking). To prevent this, you can use specialized pie weights, but dry beans or dry rice will also work just fine. That said, be sure to line the dough with parchment paper before adding the weights.
8. Test for Doneness
   • Golden color: Your crust is ready when it's a lovely golden-brown color, as shown in the pictures here. Even browning, with a background golden hue, not only makes for a lovely presentation but also signifies that the crust will have a flaky texture.

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And that's our Homemade Heirloom Tomato Pie. If you tried today's recipe, or have any questions or suggestions, be sure to let us know in the comments below. We always love hearing from you! Happy Cooking!

^{Formerly titled Italian Pie, this post was originally published October 16, 2012 and has been updated September 18, 2024.}