Heirloom Tomato Pie

This delicious Heirloom Tomato Pie recipe features caramelized onions, goat cheese, fresh basil and bacon! A hearty appetizer, perfect for summer entertaining, this tomato pie highlights summers freshest produce! Easily make gluten free or omit the bacon for a vegetarian dish.

I made this fresh tomato pie when we were invited to a friends house for dinner, it’s perfect as a starter or side dish, and the four of us nearly demolished the entire tart!

One thing I love about summertime is the garden fresh produce, if you like this tart, you will love these garden fresh recipes; Easy Tomato Bruschetta, Mediterranean Dip and this ultra easy fresh guacamole.

I received some homegrown heirloom tomatoes from a friend and used them in this caprese salad, and on these delicious Caprese BLT’s, but really wanted to remake an heirloom tomato pie I made years ago!

Farmer’s Market Week is always the first week in August. Whether you have a great local farm stand or market, are a member of a CSA or purchase your fruits and vegetables at the supermarket, follow our Pinterest board, for great recipes including those for appetizers, drinks, breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and more.

I have had so much fun this week partnering with many other talented bloggers to bring you delicious, farm fresh recipes all week long, be sure to scroll to the end to see all of the fresh recipes. Check out my other recipes:

• Watermelon Slush | Refreshing, low calorie, no added sugar, make non-alcoholic or as a cocktail
• Zucchini Corn Fritters | Stuffed with fresh sweet corn, zucchini, red peppers and more, dip in Buttermilk Ranch Dip!

What are Heirloom Tomatoes?

From their name you might be thinking these are tomatoes your grandad ate when he was a boy, well yes and no. Not the actual tomato (that would be gross), but the actual tomato seeds from those tomatoes! The reason they are called Heirloom is these seeds have been passed down through generations of farmers.

Their features have not been genetically modified like many of our store tomatoes, instead they are kind of odd shaped, lumpy, bumpy and creased. Heirloom tomatoes are also often open-pollinated, which means that they are pollinated naturally, by birds, insects, wind, or human hands. YAY!

Heirloom tomatoes tend to be juicier, less mealy, with an abundance of real tomato flavor; they come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors! For this tomato and goat cheese tart, I choose the red and yellow tomatoes, alternating their slices for a vibrant look.

TFC PRO TIP | For the best flavor and the most juiciness, store all of your tomatoes on the counter, not in the fridge.

Ingredients

This tomato and goat cheese tart uses fresh produce and a store bought crust, so easy! Remember all of the ingredients and quantities are listed in the printable recipe card at the end of the post.

• Pie Crust | Store bought or homemade (try my friend Lynn’s pie crust!), I used an organic pie crust.
• Heirloom Tomatoes | Ripe, washed & dried. Color doesn’t matter; or use your favorite tomato, still delicious!
• Sweet Onions | Like Vidalias, you’ll caramelize them to bring out their natural sweetness.
• Red Wine Vinegar | Adds a delicious sweet and sour taste to the onions
• Goat Cheese | Mmmm so good, but if you don’t like it, you can sub feta or mozzarella cheese
• Fresh Basil | Fresh is best, dried just won’t be the same for this, ask a neighbor if you can’t find any!
• Bacon | because well, it’s bacon — you can of course omit if you want to make vegetarian

Frequently Asked Questions

Instructions

Let’s make heirloom tomato pie!

Step 1 | Blind Bake the Pie Crust

• Roll the dough out a bit larger than your pie plate and press it into a sprayed tart pan or pie plate.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and blind bake crust. What is blind baking? It simply means to bake your pie crust empty.
• Best practice; pierce the pie dough with a fork all over to prevent puffing and slipping, and even better if you line the pie crust with a crumbled then smoothed out piece of parchment paper and fill with pie weights, or use dried beans like I did.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden, remove pie weights and allow to cool completely on wire rack.

Step 2 | Salt & Drain Tomatoes, Caramelize Onions

Slice tomatoes into ½ inch slices, laying out on a several layers of paper towels. Sprinkle with kosher salt and let drain on paper towels 15 minutes, flip tomatoes and let drain on other side.

Slice onions into ½ inch slices, heat oil in large skillet (love my cast iron) over medium-low heat; add onions, sprinkle with kosher salt. Stirring frequently, cook until onions start to caramelize, about 8 minutes.

Stir in sugar and red wine vinegar; continue cooking until onions are deep golden brown, stirring frequently. About another 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat until ready to assemble tomato and goat cheese tart.

Step 3 | Assemble Heirloom Tomato Pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place ½ cup of goat cheese in the bottom of the cooled pie crust. Add heirloom tomatoes, overlapping on top of feta cheese.

Next sprinkle with fresh chopped basil, crumbled bacon and caramelized onions.

TFC TIP | To chiffonade basil, wash and pat dry the basil leaves, stack basil leaves, roll up tight and thinly slice.

Sprinkle on the rest of the goat cheese and bake 20-30 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. Delicious hot or cold.

Substitutions

As I always say, this blog is about making it your own! Don’t like something, leave it out or substitute it! Here are some ideas:

• Cheese | Sub the goat cheese with feta, shredded mozzarella or sliced fresh mozzarella, or your favorite shredded cheese.
• Gluten Free | Easily adapt this recipe to be gluten free, you can make completely crustless, just be sure to start with your tomatoes (not the cheese) and layer away. Or use a gluten free pie crust.
• Tomatoes | Substitute Heirloom tomatoes with a beefy tomato, or even slice grape or cherry tomatoes in half.

Tomato Tart with Puff Pastry

You can make this beautiful tomato tart with puff pastry too if you prefer! Follow these simple steps:

1. Roll out puff pastry dough until it’s about a 12 inch circle, place into greased pie dish (or tart pan), some overhand is the goal here.
2. Fill puff pastry with Heirloom tomato pie mixture as described above.
3. Brush puff pastry with a little egg wash (one beaten egg with 1 tsp water).
4. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until golden and tomatoes are soft. YAY! Tomato tart with puff pastry!

Equipment

You do need a few things, but I bet you already have most of them!

• Pie or Tart Pan | This recipe is adaptable, I used a tart pan, but a 9″ pie plate will work great too, you could even use a rectangular tart pan for this recipe.
• Pie Weights & Parchment | Pie weights are not necessary, but are nice if you often blind bake your pies or tart, as mentioned earlier you may also use dried beans.
• Sharp Knife | If you haven’t already invested in a good sharp knife, this is my favorite one, it’s smaller and can handle most jobs, including tomatoes when it’s really sharp.

Storage Tips

It is best to eat Heirloom Tomato Pie the day it is baked, room temperature or refrigerated. Refrigerate any leftovers. The tomatoes will continue to emit juices, so the crust will become soggy.

You might also enjoy these other fresh recipes; artichoke wontons, 3 delicious cheese dips, easy blender salsa and these Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas.

Heirloom Tomato Pie

This recipe was adapted from the pie•ography Cookbook (a fun cookbook!)

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Here’s more Farmer’s Market Week Recipes

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• Amish Mustard Pickled Eggs by Palatable Pastime
• Cheddar Zucchini Scones by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Grilled Salsa by SueBee Homemaker
• Spicy Blender Salsa by Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Summer Charcuterie Board by Magical Ingredients
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• Watermelon Margarita by Lemon Blossoms

Side Dishes Recipes

• Green Beans Almondine by Life Love and Good Food
• Olive Garden Salad by Devour Dinner
• Parmesan Roasted Zucchini Boats by Family Around the Table
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Main Dish Recipes

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• Mushroom Bourguignon by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Rotisserie Chicken Quesadillas with Fresh Pico de Gallo by Blogghetti

Dessert Recipes

• Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake by House of Nash Eats
• Gluten Free Grilled Peach Shortcakes by Frugal & Fit
• Grilled Fruit Tortilla Rollups by The Freshman Cook
• Pavlovas with Whipped Cream and Berry Compote by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
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