Julie's Heirloom Tomato-Pesto Pie: Reader Recipe Of The Week

Juicy, colorful heirloom tomatoes a real treat, especially when paired with creamy ricotta cheese. This week Cooking with Courtney is sharing a recipe from Julie of Norwalk, California, who sent in a family recipe that takes this pairing to the next level: Heirloom tomato pie.

Julie said this delightful recipe is based on a treat that her sister-in-law in Chicago cooked up.

"She served this with a bowl of homemade minestrone soup," Julie wrote. "Deliciously good!"

Just how deliciously good is this pie? It's made with four kinds of cheese, so you be the judge.

As fate would have it, this is a big week for savory, summery pie recipes here on Patch. I recently shared my recipe for a summer harvest quiche with zucchini and corn (and yes, more cheese) if you're looking for a new project to tackle after making Julie's drool-worthy recipe.

But anyway, let's dive in. Thanks, Julie!

Ingredients

• 2 frozen pie crusts
• basil pesto (enough to lightly coat the inside of 2 pie crusts)
• 4 heirloom tomatoes (mixed colors), cut into 1/4 inch slices with seeds removed
• approx. 15 leaves fresh basil, julienned (try stacking the leaves and rolling up like a cigar for easier cutting)
• 1-2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 3/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 1 small container of whole milk ricotta cheese
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Poke holes around the bottom and sides of the pie crust and bake crust, according to directions on package.
3. While crust is cool, lightly coat the inside sides and bottom with basil pesto.
4. Now the fun part! Layer tomato slices on the bottom of the pie crust, then add shredded and grated cheeses, dot with pesto, and add basil, and lightly salt (optional) and pepper. Repeat this process until you reach the top of the pie crust.
5. Place pie on a cookie sheet to avoid spillage and bake pie for 45 minutes, or until the cheese bubbles.
6. Let pies cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

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Cooking with Courtney is a weekly series featuring recipes by Patch Editor Courtney Teague. She also features reader recipe submissions in her Reader Recipe of the Week series.

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