Sweet Green Tomato Pie

Here’s the clever trick for a glut of end-of-season green tomatoes: bake them into a pie. Sliced thin and treated like fruit, firm unripe tomatoes turn tart, tangy, and tender, tasting startlingly close to a green-apple pie, with a flavor most people can’t quite place.

The magic is in the maceration. The sliced tomatoes get tossed with white and brown sugar, warm spices, flour, lemon juice, and a splash of sherry, then left to sit for an hour. That rest pulls out their juices and lets the sugar and spice soak deep into the slices.

Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger give it that cozy, autumn-spice profile, while flour thickens all those released juices so the pie sets up sliceable.

A double crust, dotted with butter and vented, bakes long and slow until golden. It actually cuts cleanest cold the next day, so make it ahead if you can.

Pro Tips

• Slice the tomatoes as thin as you can; thin slices soften fully and meld into a cohesive filling.
• Don’t skip the hour of macerating; it draws out juices and lets the spices and sugar penetrate.
• Sprinkling reserved dry mix on the bottom crust helps soak up juices and keeps it from going soggy.
• It slices best cold the next day, so bake it ahead and chill before cutting.

Variations

• Add a handful of raisins or a peeled, sliced apple to the filling.
• Swap the sherry for a splash of bourbon or apple cider.
• Brush the top crust with cream and sugar for extra sparkle.