Food & Drink

Tomato Pie: A Summertime Classic

Whether you bake one or buy one, Amanda Wilbanks transforms the classic Southern sandwich into tasty pastry

August 3, 2018

Photo: Jacqueline Stofsick

Southern Baked Pie Comany’s tomato pie.

Like many good Southern stories, this one starts with a mother-in-law and a pie—though it doesn’t end the way you might think given that cast.

Shortly after Amanda Wilbanks and her family moved from Habersham to Gainesville, Georgia, her husband Alex’s mother came to visit. During her stay, Wilbanks’ mother-in-law suggested they make Alex’s favorite dessert—buttermilk pie. Though Wilbanks had never baked a pie before, she agreed, and she was hooked. “I just fell in love with baking immediately,” Wilbanks says.

Soon, Wilbanks was baking a new pie each day—for fun, for neighbors. And soon after that, she decided to make a career of it, launching Southern Baked Pie Company in 2012. Within six months, she opened her first shop in Gainesville, and four years later she opened two more—in Buckhead and Alpharetta. She also began a robust mail-order business, shipping freshly baked pies to every corner of the country.

The secret to her success? Butter, sugar, flour, and a dash of the fearlessness she learned during a stint selling insurance after college. “If I get rejected that’s okay, but at least I tried,” Wilbanks says. “That’s basically how I do everything now.”

That mettle can be seen in her recipes. From tacos to beef stroganoff, Wilbanks pushes the limits with her ingredients. “You can put anything in a pie,” she says. “You’d be amazed.” The tomato pie she rotates onto Southern Baked’s menu in late summer is an ode to a Southern favorite: the tomato sandwich. “I thought, ‘Well, I’ve grown up eating them and they’re delicious so why not put one in a pie shell?” she says. “It’s basically a tomato sandwich in a pie.” Except for two things: “I just add corn and basil for an extra touch of sweetness and flavor.”

The recipe, along with seventy-two others ranging from lemon chess pie to pineapple casserole, is one she’s proud to share in her cookbook, Southern Baked: Celebrating Life With Pie, which is available for purchase on August 8. “It’s broken up into twelve different celebrations, one for each month, with each featuring a full meal’s worth of recipes, including appetizers, entrees, sides and desserts,” Wilbanks says. You’ll also learn how to make Wilbanks’s all-butter pie crust along with thirty of her favorite recipes for filling it.

If the thought of corn and basil in tomato pie is a bridge too far, don’t worry—Wilbanks also offers a traditional take on tomato pie, too, made with cheese, onions, and ripe red ones, all layered beneath a crumbly, buttery topping. Order here and the pie can be on your doorstep in days and then onto your sideboard for Sunday brunch.

Tomato Corn Pie

Two farmers’ market standouts come together in this savory summer favorite

Makes 1 pie, serves 8

Ingredients

For the crust:
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
For the filling:
- 2 large tomatoes, sliced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup Duke’s mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
- 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups fresh corn kernels
- 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

“This pie combines two of my absolute favorite summer vegetables—tomatoes and fresh corn,” says Amanda Wilbanks, founder of Georgia’s Southern Baked Pie Company and author of Southern Baked: Celebrating Life With Pie. “It’s cheesy, but full of garden veggies and bright flavors.” The trick to making delicious pie dough, she adds, is using cold ingredients. Starting with very cold butter and ice cold water will make a world of difference when it comes to the texture of the dough. Wilbanks chills her flour, salt, and sugar, too.

Preparation

To make the crust, cut the butter into small cubes. Combine butter and flour in a mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour. Add the salt and sugar. Continue to work the butter into the flour until the mixture has a consistency of course-ground cornmeal. The cubes of butter should now be smaller than the size of a green pea.

Add the water, all at once. Continue to work the dough until the dough begins to come together. (Tip: Patience is key, here. Kneading might take longer than expected, but don’t add any more water than the recipe calls for.) Form the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and press into the shape of a disk. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours to chill.

Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Place it into a 9-inch pie plate and flute the edges.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place tomato slices on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt; set aside. Whisk together the Duke’s mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, basil, and pepper in a small bowl. (Tip: Wilbanks recommends Duke’s mayonnaise because of its sugar-free, vinegar base.)

Sprinkle the bottom of pie crust with ¼ cup cheese. Arrange half of the tomatoes over the cheese and sprinkle with corn. Cover the tomatoes with half of the mayonnaise mixture. Repeat layering with remaining tomatoes, corn, and mayonnaise mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Bake for one hour, or until bubbly. Cover with aluminum foil if cheese begins to brown too quickly.