Juicy tomatoes seem like a soggy choice for a savory pie, but they work beautifully if you treat them right. Just like a berry pie or other sweet fruit pie that tends toward runny, the recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon turns out well regardless of the type of tomato I use when I take extra steps before I layer it into the crust.

I often make this pie with box-ripened tomatoes that are a little less flavorful than peak-of-season ones yet also a bit meatier. But that can vary widely among varieties and even individual tomatoes, so I always start by tossing the tomatoes and onion with salt to draw out their excess juices—a trick I use when pickling and fermenting vegetables. Then I toast the breadcrumbs to dry them out slightly as well. When layered with the tomatoes, they have the same absorptive effect as panko or polenta in Fresh Pear, Goat Cheese, and Rosemary Galette. It’s one of several techniques we’ll be exploring in my November pie-making workshops.

Learn more about making savory pies and get the complete recipe for Late-Season Tomato Pie in my column.

Make it, share it.
Tag @twiceastastyblog and #twiceastastyblog

Twice as Tasty

Pie is just one of many ways I use late-season tomatoes after they slowly turn from green to red in the house. While they’re still green, I make Fried Green Tomatoes with the largest slicers and pickled Curried Green Tomatoes, Green Tomato Chutney, or Green Tomato Salsa with other firm ones, all recipes I included in my pickling cookbook.

After they ripen indoors, tomatoes become delicious in an array of cooked recipes. Here are just a few of my favorite ways to use late-season tomatoes in recipes on the blog. You can find more in the recipe index.

• Tomato–Basil Mac and Cheese
• Grilled Tomato Pizza Sauce
• Smashed Bean Pasta
• 30-Minute Tomato Soup

Frozen, canned, and box-ripened tomatoes can also be used interchangeably in many of my other soup recipes.

Want more Twice as Tasty recipes? Get my books! Click here to order a personally signed, packaged, and shipped copy of The Complete Guide to Pickling directly from me. I also share tasty ways to use pickles in The Pickled Picnic; it’s only available here.