Cheese and Tomato Pie Recipe (Greek-Style Phyllo Pie)

Cheese and tomato pie on a wooden board garnished with basil.

5 from 1 vote

Cheese and Tomato Pie Recipe (Greek-Style Phyllo Pie)

Summer tomatoes take center stage in this Greek-style Cheese and Tomato Pie. This recipe is adaptable, delicious, and a definite show-stopper! It comes together rather quickly and bakes in under 40 minutes.

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Total Time50

Course: Appetizer, Brunch, Snack

Cuisine: Greek

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: Servings

Author: Luay Ghafari

Cost: $10

Equipment

11-12 inch round pan

Ingredients

Cheese Mixture

1 cup Ricotta
1 Package Boursin cream cheese - 5.3 oz/150 grams
1 Egg
Kosher salt and black pepper

Pie Ingredients

½ Package Phyllo dough - 5-6 sheets, defrosted
½ cup Butter - Melted
3-4 Medium Heirloom tomatoes - Sliced ¼ inch thick
½ tsp Dried oregano
Kosher salt and black pepper
Fresh basil for garnish

Instructions

Make the cheese mixture. In a bowl, combine the ricotta, herbed cream cheese and egg. Mix well to combine. Season lightly with a pinch of salt and some black pepper. At this point, preheat your oven to 425F/220C.
Line your baking dish. Brush some butter onto your baking dish and lay one sheet of phyllo pastry. Brush on some more butter. Add another layer of phyllo pastry. Repeat this butter/phyllo process until you have 5 or 6 layers of phyllo in your baking dish.
Add the cheese. Transfer the cheese mixture into the phyllo-lined baking dish and level it. Cut some of the overhanging pieces of phyllo dough to create a neat edge around the baking dish. We don’t want too much overhang.
Add the phyllo scraps. Layer the phyllo scraps over the cheese mixture. This is done to create a buffer between the cheese and the tomatoes.
Add the tomatoes. Layer the tomatoes over the phyllo scraps, making sure to cover the full surface. Overlap the slices so that you end up with a nice thick tomato layer.
Season. Season the tomatoes with a pinch of salt, pepper and some dried oregano.
Crimp. Fold and crimp the edges of the phyllo to create a neat edge. It doesn’t have to be perfect. This is a rustic pie after all. Brush the edge with melted butter.
Bake. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then drop the temperature down to 375F/190C and bake for another 15-20 minutes. The pie should be brown around the edges. Garnish with fresh basil once it has cooled. Let the pie cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into it.

Notes

Refer to the post above for step-by-step recipe photos.

Ingredient notes:

Fresh tomatoes: Heirloom tomatoes, sliced about ¼ of an inch thick, are what I would recommend. Heirloom tomatoes are best in the summer harvest season. If you are making this recipe in the off-season, you can use tomatoes on the vine or Roma tomatoes which are available year-round. You can even use cherry tomatoes.
Cheese: For this recipe, I am using a combination of ricotta and Boursin (herbed cream cheese). The ricotta gives the pie that traditional Greek pie mouthfeel while the Boursin’s creamy, herby flavor rounds things out. If you don’t have Boursin, any herbed cream cheese will work. Or you can use regular cream cheese and just add some extra herbs to the mix.
Phyllo Pastry: You will find phyllo in the frozen section of your grocery store next to the puff pastry. If you don’t have access to phyllo, but you have access to puff pastry, try my Tomato Puff Pasty Tart recipe instead.
Herbs: I am using a combination of dried oregano and fresh basil. Feel free to use another fresh herb for garnish. Fresh parsley or even chives could work!

Important notes regarding phyllo sheets:

Phyllo sheets are incredibly delicate. Handle with care and work quickly. Phyllo dries up pretty quickly so cover with a damp towel while you work. You will not need to use the whole package of phyllo sheets, so wrap up the rest and refrigerate.

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