From the Church Cookbook: The Tomato Pie That Never Survived Sunday Lunch

Every church seems to have one dish that disappears first. Not the roast, not the casserole, not even the dessert table. Somehow it is always the dish everyone quietly hopes nobody notices until they have gone back for seconds. In many Southern churches, that dish is tomato pie.

The recipe changes from congregation to congregation. Some swear by Duke’s mayonnaise, others insist on extra basil, and a few guard their version with the seriousness usually reserved for family heirlooms. But the heart of the dish stays the same: summer tomatoes, cheese, a flaky crust, and the understanding that simple ingredients often make the best meals.

Tomato pie caught on throughout the South because it arrived exactly when gardens were overflowing. By July, many gardeners had more tomatoes than they knew what to do with. Sandwiches helped, and so did salads, but tomato pie helped most of all. It turned a summer surplus into something worth gathering around.

Church Cookbook Tomato Pie

Ingredients

1 prepared pie crust
4 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Bake the pie crust according to package directions and allow to cool.
Place tomato slices on paper towels and sprinkle with the salt. Let them sit twenty minutes to draw out excess moisture.
Layer the tomatoes into the crust.
Combine the cheeses, mayonnaise, basil, and pepper.
Spread the mixture evenly over the tomatoes.
Bake at 350°F for thirty to thirty-five minutes, until golden and bubbling.
Let rest ten minutes before serving.

The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for it to cool. When it comes out of the oven, the tomatoes have softened into something almost jam-like, the cheese is browned at the edges, and the crust holds just enough crunch to remind you it began as a pie. The second hardest part is arriving late to the church potluck and discovering there is none left. Both problems have been known to happen.