This recipe was the lucky culmination of a recent visit to the Lodge Factory Store in Scottsboro, Alabama, the abundance of cherry tomatoes in my garden, and leftover biscuits from this morning’s breakfast. It features the biscuit recipe from page 80 of the Alabama Stitch Book and is a riff on the Put-Up Tomato Pie on page 89 of Alabama Studio Style.

Maggie woke up clambering for biscuits this morning and I was one cup short of the white flour that she loves best.  So, I substituted one cup of wheat flour on the board and used that for rolling.  It made a light but hearty biscuit that was the start to a great day; we finished our evening with this hearty dish that was a hit with my family (i.e. no leftovers).

Add some Benton’s Bacon for meat lovers.

NATALIE’S LEFTOVER BISCUIT + TOMATO PIE

1 medium onion
Olive oil to coat bottom of pan
Two cloves garlic, finely chopped
Cherry tomatoes (enough to fill the bottom of your pan)
Fresh thyme and basil to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
5 leftover biscuits
1/2 cup mayonnaise (homemade or store bought)
1/2 cup grated sharp cheese

I used my Lodge Oval Pan but any cast iron skillet will do.

The recipe starts out with the most complicated part: caramelizing the onion.  This has always intimidated me; however, I learned a few things from my son (and chef) Zach that helped along the way:

Slice your onion very carefully, with a very sharp knife to obtain thin and uniform slices – about 1/16” per slice. Zach says that this is the most important part to caramelizing onion. I try to practice “being present” in this step, while watching my fingers.

Stir constantly. This allows all of the onion to cook evenly. I have a tendency to get sidetracked in the kitchen.  Caramelizing onion requires a bit of patience and concentration.  If you can get this part down, you will be richly rewarded as it deeply flavors the entire dish.

Let the onion cook longer than you think.  The onion should really be brown and almost to the point of what seems burnt. I have a tendency to stop too early and, hence, don’t achieve that roasted sweetness of caramelizing.

Once the onion is caramelized, turn off the heat and add your finely chopped garlic cloves. The cast iron retains the heat and will cook the garlic perfectly. Add thyme, basil, salt, and pepper.

Fill the bottom of the pan with washed cherry tomatoes and stir gently to thoroughly coat with the above mixture. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, crumble three of your leftover biscuits then add grated cheese and mayonnaise. Stir until your biscuits are coated and add to the top of your tomato mixture.

Crumble the last two biscuits onto the top of your pie.

Bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes or until the biscuits are browned and the tomatoes soften.

Eat and enjoy!

Do you have any other ways to use cherry tomatoes? Please share them in the comments below!