Southern Tomato Spinach Pie Recipes

SOUTHERN TOMATO SPINACH PIE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven and press pie dough in dish. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Press the pie dough into a pie dish. Crimp the edges if you want to.
• Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and set aside to drain. Place sliced tomatoes on a wire rack nestled into a rimmed baking sheet, and sprinkle both sides with kosher salt (if you don't have a wire rack, you can use a large colander). Set aside.
• Blind bake the crust. Blind bake the pie crust at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes, or until just starting to brown using pie weights or beans (see notes).
• Thaw and drain frozen spinach. While the pie crust blind bakes, thaw the frozen spinach and squeeze out as much water as possible. I like to place it frozen in a sturdy colander, run hot water over it until it's thawed, then use a wooden spoon to squeeze as much water out as possible.
• Mix mayo, mozzarella, spinach, and hot sauce. In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise (1/2 cup), shredded mozzarella (16 oz.), spinach, and hot sauce, if using (1 tablespoon).
• Pat tomatoes as dry as possible with a paper towel. I recommend patting both sides dry and pressing fairly firmly down on them. You may need to squeeze the water out of the paper towel a few times - the goal is to remove as much water as possible (without smushing them too much so they keep their shape).
• Assemble the pie. Set 5 tomato slices aside. Layer half of the remaining tomatoes on the bottom of pie. Spread half the spinach mixture on top of that. Repeat with the remaining tomatoes and spinach mixture. Place the five reserved tomato slices on top.
• Bake the tomato pie at 350 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.
• Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting the pie into 8 slices. Serve warm or at room temperature.

SOUTHERN TOMATO PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400º.
• Follow package directions to bake pie shell; prick bottom all over of sllghtly thawed shell, bake for 10 to 20 minutes until browned.
• Meanwhile, place tomatoes in colander and sprinkle with salt. Let drain, tossing several times. Then with paper towels, press down to blot up even more of the liquid.
• In small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and cheeses until combined well.
• Turn oven down to 375º .
• Place tomatoes in baked pie shell, add sliced or chopped basil and gently mix. Season with salt and pepper. Top with mayonnaise-cheese mixture and spread evenly over the top.
• Bake in center of oven for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown on top. Cool at least 20 to 30 minutes or longer. Slice and serve, warm or at room temperature.