- [Sheri] I am making tomato pie, one of my favorite things to do with fresh, juicy heirloom tomatoes.

[bright music] What I have here are tomatoes I cut up about 15 minutes ago, and I salted them.

That is going to start the seasoning process, but what it's really doing is it is encouraging these tomatoes to release a little bit of their moisture.

So I'm just gently blotting the last of that tomato juice off the top.

And these guys are good to go.

Now, I have this amazing filling that's gonna bring these tomatoes together into a pie filling.

And what's in the bowl so far is shredded Gruyere cheese and some finely-chopped scallions.

Now I'm adding lemon in two forms.

So I'm gonna use the zest because that zest is gonna punch up that bright citrus flavor.

I am gonna add just a tiny squeeze of fresh lemon juice for measure, just a few drops.

Now from there, I'm gonna add more flavor to this.

I'm gonna add a little bit of salt.

This is celery seed.

It's one of my secret ingredients in this filling.

And then plenty of good black pepper.

Now, the last thing is going to be mayo, maybe a half cup, just enough to bind these ingredients together.

Just a little bit of stirring, and already, we have our filling ready.

I love how these scallions look, this little bit of green that's gonna go with these tomatoes.

Next step is to take my pre-baked pie shell so that it's already crisp against these tomatoes, and I'm gonna layer in about half of them.

So I've got the bottom of my pie shell covered, and now I am going to put in my Gruyere mixture and spread it around.

And I'm going to put in a little bit of basil, not a lot.

We're gonna put more basil on top, just a little bit to kind of carry that flavor through the middle.

And then I'm going to layer in the rest of my tomatoes.

Now, the last thing I'm gonna do is put a little bit of a topping.

So what I have in here are some crumbled saltines and some Parmesan.

The Parmesan is gonna give a little bit of a toasty finish to this.

Just a drop of melted butter.

Toss to coat, and then sprinkle it on.

And just like that, this tomato pie is ready to go in the oven.

And while this is in the oven, I'm gonna let you in on one of my favorite secrets on how to get that pie crust golden brown.

It's a great tip for blind baking a crust.

- So look at my beautiful pie.

It has been cooling, it is now room temperature.

And you know, that is the best way to eat this pie.

When it's too warm, you don't taste all the flavors.

And it's not good when it's chilled.

People love a tomato sandwich.

I know that they do.

But you know, this tomato pie can give a tomato sandwich a run for its money.

It is my favorite thing to do with gorgeous heirloom tomatoes.

[gentle music]