“Our first savory bake is a nod to my Southern roots, with a few
delicious twists of my own.
I went to the farmers’ market the other day and I actually started
tearing up at the striking display of color. Deeply saturated yellows, oranges
and reds, with a few earthy purples and neon greens scattered about the mix.
It’s heirloom tomato season all right. And I’m diving into the deep end. Wanna
come with?
August’s Monthly Bake lets those gorgeous summertime tomatoes do the
talking. But, when designing this recipe, I knew I had a feat ahead of me, on
two counts. We haven’t done a savory bake. And, maybe most of all, will people
really want to turn on their ovens in August?
I know, and yes, respectively. This pie is worth the heat.
Tomato pie is a Southern staple. I grew up eating homespun variations
that were for sure good, but I never knew how great tomato pie could be until I
tried the chef Ashley Christensen’s version at Poole’s Diner in Raleigh, N.C.
Homegrown tomatoes suspended in a cheesy custard, all cradled in a flaky crust
— one bite made me proud to call Ashley a hometown hero.
I wanted my version to stay true to tradition while representing me. I
decided to use a common base formula — tomatoes, cheese and mayonnaise baked
into a standard crust — but because this is a Monthly Bake, we had to add a bit
more whimsy and zhuzh everything up a bit.
First: a buttermilk and chive crust that’s good enough to eat on its own.
It gets a head start in the oven so it can withstand the heft of the filling.
While that bakes, slice and salt the best-looking heirloom tomatoes you can
find (I prefer ones that are a touch underripe so they aren’t as watery). The
salt seasons the tomato and concentrates the flavor, but it also helps draw out
moisture.
You’ll let those tomatoes hang out while you whisk together the filling:
a tangy buttermilk-and-mayonnaise-based custard that’s full of chives and
basil, with a slight kick from ground cayenne. Pat the tomatoes dry and shingle
them in the parbaked crust. Then spoon over the filling, pile on some shredded
Cheddar and top with more tomatoes. They’re the star of the show, after all.
Go pick up some stunning tomatoes and a bottle of Duke’s. (OK fine,
whatever mayo you prefer, but I say Duke’s.) Fire up the oven and spark joy!
Share your photos!
I love ushering in a new Bake Time treat. Let me see those tomato pies!
Share them with me on Instagram @vaughn or send them to me by email at
baketime@nytimes.com.
(By submitting photos to us via email, you agree to our reader submission
terms here.)
Heirloom Tomato and Cheddar Pie
Click here to view this recipe in the app.
Total time: 5 hours 45 minutes
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 5 ½ hours
Yield: 8 to 12 servings
INGREDIENTS
For the crust:
⅓ cup/79 milliliters cold full-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon cold water
2 ice cubes
1 ½ cups/192 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
¼ cup/14 grams chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) or 1 teaspoon fine sea
salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup/113 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
For the filling:
1 ½ pounds heirloom tomatoes (about 4 medium)
½ teaspoon kosher salt such as Diamond Crystal) or ¼ teaspoon fine sea
salt
½ cup/119 milliliters full-fat buttermilk
¼ cup/56 grams mayonnaise
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pinch ground cayenne (optional)
½ cup/15 grams chopped fresh basil
¼ cup/14 grams chopped fresh chives, plus more for serving
8 ounces/226 grams sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
PREPARATION
Make the crust: In a glass
measuring cup, mix together the buttermilk and water, then add the ice cubes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, chives, sugar, salt and pepper.
Using your hands, rub the cubed butter into the flour mixture until roughly
half of the cubes are the size of peas. Flatten the larger pieces of butter
into shards with your fingertips, then make a well in the center of the flour
mixture.
Pour the buttermilk mixture
into the well (discarding the ice cubes) and use a fork to start mixing
everything together. Once the wet ingredients are mostly incorporated but dry
pockets of flour still remain, turn everything out onto a clean work surface.
If the dough looks really dry and crumbly, sprinkle a bit more water on top,
bearing in mind that it will continue to come together as you work it and as it
rests in the refrigerator.
Use a bench scraper or the flat
edge of a ruler to pat everything into a compact (6-inch) square. Cut the
square into four smaller squares, stack those on top of one another, and then
flatten them down into one even mass about 2 inches thick. (This step ensures
flaky layers in the dough.) Loosely wrap the dough with plastic wrap, then use
a rolling pin to roll the wrapped dough into a more compact disc that’s about 1
inch thick. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Parbake the crust: Rap the
dough lightly with a rolling pin if it’s stiff from the refrigerator. Lightly
flour the rolling pin and roll the dough on a floured work surface into a
12-inch round. Fit the dough into a 9-inch pie plate (not deep dish), letting
the dough slump a bit so it fits into the bottom and sides without stretching.
If needed, trim the overhang so it extends just ½ inch past the rim. Fold the
overhang under itself to form a thick ridge flush with the rim. Crimp the ridge
and use a fork to poke holes on the bottom and up the sides of the crust.
Freeze for about 20 minutes, until very firm.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 425
degrees.
When ready to bake, line the
firm chilled crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Place on
a rimmed baking sheet and bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes, then
carefully lift out the foil and weights, lower the temperature to 350 degrees
and bake for 15 minutes more, until golden brown all over. Let cool completely
in the pan on a wire rack.
Make the filling: Adjust the
oven to 375 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with a layer of paper
towels. Slice the tomatoes ½-inch thick and lay the slices on the
paper-towel-lined sheet, then sprinkle evenly with the salt. Let the tomatoes
sit to season and draw out moisture while you finish the filling.
In a medium bowl, whisk
together the buttermilk, mayonnaise, egg, egg yolk, mustard, black pepper and
cayenne, if using. Fold in the basil and chives.
When ready to assemble, pat the
surface of the tomatoes with paper towels to extract more moisture. This helps
yield a filling that isn’t too wet or leaky when cut. Shingle half of the
tomato slices in the bottom of the cooled crust, then pour over the filling and
sprinkle with the Cheddar. Shingle the rest of the tomato slices on top and
press down slightly.
Put the assembled pie on a
rimmed baking sheet and bake on the middle rack for 50 to 60 minutes, rotating
halfway through, until the filling is set and the crust is deeply browned. If
the crust starts to look too dark, you can carefully tent the pie with foil
until it’s fully baked.
Let the pie cool completely, at
least 1 hour, before topping with more chopped chives and slicing. The pie will
keep in the refrigerator, wrapped tightly, for up to 4 days.”
1. The Monthly Bake:
Heirloom Tomato and Cheddar Pie. Vreeland, Vaughn. New York Times (Online) New
York Times Company. Aug 1, 2026.
