Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 375ºF. If you have a baking stone, put it on the rack (this will help cook the bottom of the crust).
Lay the sliced tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a triple layer of paper towels. Sprinkle the tomatoes with 1 teaspoon salt, flip the slices over, and sprinkle with another 1 teaspoon salt. (Don’t worry – the salt will all drift away with the excess tomato juices.) Top the tomatoes with a double layer of paper towels and let sit to sweat out the excess juices, at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.
Combine the cornmeal, ¾ teaspoon salt, and pepper in shallow bowl. Begin to dredge the tomatoes in the seasoned cornmeal, coating each side well and knocking off excess clumps, and layering the ingredients in the pie shell as follows:
• 1/4 of the Parmesan
• 1/3 of the mozzarella
• 1/3 of the tomatoes, dredged in the cornmeal mixture
• 1/3 of the olive oil
• ½ of the basil
• 1/4 of the Parmesan
• 1/3 of the mozzarella
• 1/3 of the tomatoes, dredged in the cornmeal mixture
• 1/3 of the olive oil
• ½ of the basil
• 1/4 of the Parmesan
• remaining mozzarella
• remaining tomatoes, dredged in the cornmeal mixture
• remaining parmesan
• remaining olive oil
Transfer the pie to the oven and bake at 375ºF 35-45 minutes until the top is golden and the tomatoes are bubbling. Cool at least 10 minutes before slicing for the cleanest results. Top with small, pretty basil leaves if you like. Extra tomato pie keeps well, refrigerated airtight, for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350ºF oven or toaster oven until hot for best results.
Notes
Be sure to start the pie dough earlier in the day (or the night before) if you wish to give it extra turns to make it super flaky and easy to work with (recommended!).Nutritional values are based on one of eight servings.