If Your Tomato Pie Is Coming Out Soggy You're Probably Missing This Key Step

Tomato pie comes in many forms and flavors. You can build a true double-crust pie with a savory tomato-corn filling, make a tomato tart with goat cheese (or another underrated cheese) and fresh herbs, or create a quiche-like confection with tomato, eggs, and ricotta. But no matter what type of crust you make or how you slice it, your tomato pie creation will always be threatened by the tomatoes themselves. Like many fruits and vegetables, tomatoes are full of water, which makes them a tricky ingredient when baking. As tomatoes bake in the oven, they start to release their juices into the pie crust, not only creating a soggy bottom crust, but steaming up the rest of the pie ingredients you meant to crisply bake. Luckily, there's an easy measure you can take to prevent tomato pie disaster: salting and draining your tomato slices.

Before baking your tomato pie, lay your tomato slices out on several paper towels then give them a generous sprinkle of salt. Salt helps to draw moisture out of tomatoes, so you need the paper towels to soak up what they release. Let your tomatoes drain on the counter for at least 30 minutes before firmly blotting away a bit more moisture with another paper towel. Now you can use your tomatoes as usual, achieving the same great flavor with half as much harmful moisture. Don't worry about over-salting, tomatoes (and tomato pies) can handle a good amount of salt and you'll lose some to your vigorous blotting anyway.

While salting and draining your tomatoes is a must, there are a few additional steps you can take if your pie crust is still a little too damp for your liking. When it comes to the crust, we'd recommend blind baking the bottom pie crust in advance. Even without goopy ingredients, blind baking is helpful to ensure your bottom crust gets thoroughly cooked and browned. If you're making a double-crust tomato pie, be sure to pierce some large vents in the top crust to let the steam escape.

Separate from the crust, there are a few more tricks to baking with super juicy tomatoes. First, for your large heirloom or beefsteak tomatoes, you can actually scoop out and discard some of the seeds and juices at the center. You'll still have plenty of mild, sweet tomato flavor but without all the liquid. Second, you can actually pre-broil your tomatoes. By roasting them in advance on their own sheet pan, you can ensure they've already released all their juices before you add them to your pie.