Tomato Pie with Blue Cheese Biscuits

It’s tomato season which means it’s time to eat cherry tomatoes like they’re candy AND it’s high time for tomato pie! My version of tomato pie is more of a tomato cobbler-  super simple, topped with buttermilk blue cheese biscuits.

Just last week my big sister Launa sent me a very urgent overnight package. Inside were vegetables fresh from her garden, lovingly washed and wrapped in in towels and bubble wrap (which made me laugh because lol green beans are fragile!).  The most beautiful of her generous offering was the golden beet, an incredible artichoke, a few curly English cucumbers, a pale mint green patty pan squash, and the most lovely little tomatoes.  I think I just described everything… it was all perfectly lovely.

The tomatoes sparked a reminder of this fine tomato pie recipe – knowing that some of you have literal bushes of cherry tomato plants that hang heavy with fruit this time of year.  My sister’s tomatoes didn’t make it to the pie. I enjoyed them straight out of the package, reaching over my shoulder for a pinch of sea salt.  But all tomatoes are delicious in a pie these days.  Pick yours, let’s pie.

I first made this recipe in 2012. More specifically, I made and photographed this tomato cobbler on the floor of my little bungalow in Venice way back when it was just me and a youthful Tron. Almost ten years later and this is still one of the most popular summer recipes on the site so I thought we give it a new attitude.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this tomato pie recipe with blue cheese biscuits:

For the biscuits:

•  All-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt

•  Butter and shortening

•  Buttermilk and blue cheese

For the pie:

•  2 pounds of cherry tomatoes

•  Sliced onion and garlic

•  Olive oil and balsamic vinegar

•  Flour to thicken the pie and salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes

•  Fresh basil for serving

Start by making the blue cheese biscuits.

Work cold butter and shortening into the dry ingredients.  We’ve made biscuits so many times over the years by now you know we’re using our hands to break the fat into little pea size bits and oat flakes.

Today is extra special so we’ll add crumbled blue cheese to our biscuit dough.  For for feta if you don’t have blue.

Toss to combine.

Make a well in the center of the flour, butter, and blue cheese mixture and add most, but not all of the buttermilk.

Use a fork to toss the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, forming a shaggy dough.

Add a bit more buttermilk so the dough comes together into a moist, but not sticky dough.

It’s ok if the biscuit dough is on the wet side.  Wet is better than dry.  Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to rest in the refrigerator while you assemble the tomato filling.

As with all good savory things, this tomato pie recipe starts with onions.

Once onions are browned with olive oil to silky and deeply golden, add the garlic and balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan.  It should smell like heaven exactly.

In a medium bowl toss together the cherry tomatoes (some of them can be cut in half), those warm garlicy onions, flour, seasoning, and fresh basil or any herbs you like.

Arrange the tomato filling in a 9×9-inch square baking pan (or a big ceramic pie dish if that’s what you have on hand), and bake the tomatoes alone to start their roast.

While the tomato pie filling has it’s first roast in the oven, roll and cut 6 hearty biscuit rounds (about 2 1/2-inches around and 3/4-inch thick).

Add the biscuit rounds to the top of the par-roasted tomatoes.

Warm biscuits over roasted tomatoes – a most perfect summer dinner. Though – add a few soft boiled eggs and this would be an incredible brunch dish.

Happy Baking! Happy Summer! These are my favorite days.

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Photographs with my dear Jon Melendez.