Nonnie's Tomato Pie Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a tomato pie and a pizza pie? ›

A New York slice is typically made with thin pizza dough and topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. A tomato pie, however, most resembles a New York Sicilian pizza, which is rectangular with a thicker crust. What makes a tomato pie fundamentally different is its toppings.

Tomato pie was brought to Philadelphia by Southern Italian immigrants in the early twentieth century. The crust is based on a focaccia-like dough popular in the city of Palermo, Sicily, shown here in 1910.

Back at the turn of the century, there was no refrigeration so toppings were very basic. This gave birth to the tomato pie. The classic New Haven tomato pie is simple: dough, crushed Italian tomatoes, pecorino romano, and EVOO. That's it. Later, anchovies, garlic, and onions were also added.

A 1903 article in the New-York Tribune on the food of Italian-Americans described a "pomidore pizza", or tomato pie, made solely with dough, tomatoes, and powdered red pepper. Tomato pie has been sold by Iannelli's Bakery in Philadelphia since 1910.

You find tomato pie throughout the Carolinas, especially the flat coastal areas of the low country—like at Charleston's Dixie Supply Bakery & Cafe, or King's Farm Market, on South Carolina's Edisto Island.

1. Philly Cheesesteaks. Without a doubt, Philly cheesesteaks are the most iconic Pennsylvania food. Their notoriety is spread across America and even the world.

While the Philadelphia tomato pie is thick, Trenton tomato pie is round, thin-crusted and includes a layer of cheese between the crust and the topping of tomato sauce. Another difference is the flavor profile of the sauces, with Philadelphia's herbal savoriness contrasting with Trenton's slight sweetness.

I have no idea, but in comparing the Philly pies I've reviewed to this one, the sauce is the primary difference with the Utica using a richer, more flavorful pecorino romano than the Philly ones I've tried. The crusts are virtually the same bakery sheet bread-type sponges.

There, it is a round pizza first layered with cheese and toppings, and then crowned with sauce. Once upon a time, almost all pizza — then a word unknown to the general American public outside Italian enclaves — was called tomato pie in the United States.

But what just might be the true Philly-style pizza isn't really a pizza at all. Tomato pie, our city's cheeseless wonder, can be traced back to thick, tomato-topped dough slices made in Sicily that traveled here with waves of Italian immigrants — some of whose bakeries still stand as icons of the craft — a century ago.

Is a tomato pie a pizza? ›

It all depends on where you are. In the Philadelphia area, where I grew up, they are the same: a Philly tomato pie is a square, cheeseless or nearly cheeseless pizza with a thick, Sicilian style crust topped with tomato sauce and, at most, just a dusting of grated cheese.

This cheese-free recipe stems from the Southern portion of Italy, where tomatoes and olives are more plentiful than dairy cows. Somehow during its transatlantic journey, Sicilian pizza shed the onions and anchovies and was renamed, Ellis Island–style, "tomato pie."

Tomato pie is basically a cold sicilian pizza, with no cheese (except a sprinkle of grated locatelli). It has a thick, chewy, utterly delicious crust and a thick layer of sweet, tangy sauce. It's usually served cold, but equally delicious warm or at room temperature.

So no, this southern Tomato Pie recipe doesn't taste like pizza, but it's certainly in the pizza family of ingredients!