Tomato Pie with a Buttermilk Biscuit Crust

For the crust:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt. Cut butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender until the mixture is coarse and small pieces of butter remain. Pour in the buttermilk and stir until incorporated.

On a lightly floured surface, with floured hands, put the ball of dough on the lightly floured surface and spinkle with a little more flour. The dough will be quite sticky! Knead a few times until dough comes together and it’s not so sticky. Flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for 1-24 hours before rolling out.

After dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350 F. Place the disk of dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to an 11″ circle. Carefully pick up the dough and place in a 9 or 9 1/2″ deep dish pie plate. Trim any excess and fold edges under and crimp.

Place in the oven and par bake the crust for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

For the pie:
Place a double layer of paper towels on a cookie sheet and layer the cored and sliced tomatoes in a single layer. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Put another double layer of paper towels over the tomatoes and repeat with the remaining sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with the another 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Cover with paper towels and let them sit for 30 minutes. The salt helps draw the moisture out of the tomatoes.

While the tomatoes are draining, sprinkle the cornmeal over the cooling pie crust.

Mix together all of the cheeses in a medium bowl. Take out 1 cup of the cheese and set aside. To the remaining cheese, mix in the mayo, green onions, basil, hot sauce, remaining 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper.

After the tomatoes have sat for 30 minutes, sprinkle 1/2 of the reserved cup of cheese over the cornmeal in the bottom of the crust. Layer the pie shell with the drained tomatoes. Spread the mayo mixture over the top of the tomatoes. Top with the remaining reserved cheese.

Bake in a 350 F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden and crust is browned. Watch carefully toward the end and tent the pie with a sheet of foil if the pie is getting too brown.

When done, remove it from the oven and let it sit for at least 30-45 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!