Check It Out - Tomato Pie Recipe Is Easy To Make And Tastes Great!

Before I disclose to you the promised tomato pie recipe, let's bite deeper (pun intended) into the crust and discover some interesting facts about this incredible edible. Tomato pie is a close derivative of the Sicilian pizza and is very popular among American people of Italian and Sicilian heritage. There are quite a few different types and variants of tomato pie and most of these variants are attributed to various different American regions, based upon where each variant is believed to have originated from. For instance, the most elementary form of this tomato recipe is believed to have originated from Utica where it has been made and sold since as early as 1914. On the other hand, the Trenton tomato pie variant is traced to this capital city of New Jersey. Tomato pies are an inseparable part of Italian American cuisine and their cheese-n-spices flavor make them a hit, no matter what ethnic palates experience them. Praises apart, let's take a look at a couple of interesting tomato pie recipe.

Utican Tomato Pie Recipe

This is the basic, most elementary recipe for tomato pie which is believed to have originated in Utica, the proverbial birthplace of tomato pies! Check it out - it's easy to make and tastes great!

Ingredients

• Crushed Tomatoes (canned) - 32 ounces
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 3 tablespoonfuls
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Dried Oregano - 1 teaspoonful
• Pizza Dough - 1 pound
• Pecorino Romano Cheese (grated) - 3 tablespoonfuls
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

Preparation Method

• Grease a cookie sheet with the extra virgin olive oil and stretch pizza dough to cover it.
• The dough layer should have a minimum thickness of at least 1 to ¾ th of an inch.
• Preheat the oven to about 450 °F and allow the dough to rise slightly.
• Meanwhile, start preparing the sauce by first heating a saucepan moderately and then sautéing garlic cloves in the olive oil on medium flame till the garlic cloves turn slightly golden.
• Next, add the oregano, salt, pepper and crushed tomatoes to the sautéed garlic and cook for about 10-15 minutes or till the sauce assumes a thick, creamy texture.
• Take the frying pan off the flame, and allow the sauce to cool till it has reached room temperature.
• Pour this sauce over the pizza dough and place this sauce topped dough into the preheated oven.
• Bake at 450 °F for about 20 minutes
• Take the pie out and sprinkle the grated Pecorino Romano cheese on top of it.
• Allow it to cool before serving.

While the pie cools, the escaping heat partially melts the cheese sprinkled on top, giving your Utica tomato pie a cheesier edge (wink!)!

Tomato Pie With Bacon Recipe

This recipe is for those incorrigible meat lovers (myself included!) who cannot be satisfied with an all-veggie fare and must discern at least a slight hint of non vegetarian ingredients to consider the dish worthy of their palates!

Ingredients

• Deep Dish Pie Crust (about 9 inches thick) - 1 unit
• Large Tomatoes (sliced and peeled) - 4
• Scallions (finely sliced) - 3
• Bacon (chopped, cooked, drained) - 1 pound
• Dried Oregano - 1 teaspoonful
• Powdered Garlic - ½ teaspoon
• Red Pepper (crushed) - ½ teaspoon
• Mayonnaise - ¼ cup
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese - 2 cups

Preparation Method

• Fill alternating layers of tomatoes, scallion, basil, garlic powder, bacon, red pepper and oregano into the pie crust.
• Keep the oven preheated at 375 °F while you're layering the pastry shell.
• Mix the shredded cheese and mayonnaise together and spread this mixture over the yet-to-be-baked pie's surface.
• Cover this pie with an aluminum foil and place it inside the preheated oven.
• Bake for about 30 minutes.

You can either make the crust from scratch or you can get a ready-to-use one from your neighborhood grocer. Serve it warm or allow it to cool - take your pick. It tastes great both ways!

You can try a lot of other variants such as spinach, chicken or green tomato pie - with an ounce of imagination and a sprinkle of innovation, you can very well come up with your own recipe variant! Try different various ingredients for the sauce or pie filling along with the staple tomatoes and cheese - you never know, you could actually have a whole new tomato pie recipe named after you!