Tomato pie
Encyclopedia
New York-style pizza
New York-style pizza originated in New York City in the early 1900s. It is known for its large, wide, thin and foldable shape. The traditional toppings were tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, with any additional toppings placed with the cheese. It is traditionally hand-tossed and light on sauce...
, which is closely related to Neapolitan pizza, tomato pie is derived heavily from Sicilian pizza
Sicilian pizza
Sicilian pizza refers to the different ways to prepare pizza in Sicily .In the USA, among the Italian American community, the locution sicilian pizza it refers to a particular way to cook the pizza originated from the city of Palermo.-Local pizza in Sicily:In Sicily there are many local ways to...
, and as such can be found in predominantly Sicilian-American
Sicilian-American
Sicilian Americans are American people from Sicily or of Sicilian heritage. They are considered Italian Americans but are sometimes treated as a separate group due to cultural and historical differences between Sicily and the mainland....
communities.
The basic recipe for tomato pie calls for a thick, porous, focaccia
Focaccia
Focaccia is a flat oven-baked Italian bread, which may be topped with herbs or other ingredients. It is related to pizza, but not considered to be the same....
-like dough covered with tomato sauce, more like a pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
than a covered pie, then sprinkled with grated romano cheese
Romano cheese
Romano cheese is an American term for a class of cheeses, some of them Italian, including Pecorino Romano, a hard, salty cheese, suitable primarily for grating, from which the name is derived....
. Many bakeries and pizzerias have their own variation on this formula. It is not usually served straight from the oven, but allowed to cool and then consumed at room temperature or reheated. Like Sicilian pizza, tomato pie is baked in a large aluminum pan and served in square slices.
Tomato pie can be found throughout the Philadelphia metropolitan area, and to a lesser extent in downstate New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, especially in and around Italian communities. Notable locations serving the dish are Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
; Lewes, Delaware
Lewes, Delaware
Lewes is an incorporated city in Sussex County, Delaware, USA, on the Delmarva Peninsula. According to the 2010 census, the population is 2,747, a decrease of 6.3% from 2000....
; the Norristown, Pennsylvania
Norristown, Pennsylvania
Norristown is a municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, northwest of the city limits of Philadelphia, on the Schuylkill River. The population was 34,324 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Montgomery County...
, area; and Utica, New York
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
.
Namesake
As evidenced by period photographs of O'scugnizzo's Pizza in East Utica, New YorkEast Utica, New York
East Utica, New York is commonly regarded as the portion of Utica, New York east of Mohawk Street. East Utica is historically Italian-American in character, and is home to the Little Italy portion of Bleeker Street. However, in recent years these formerly Italian neighborhoods have experienced an...
, tomato pie was sold as early as 1914. Along with chicken riggies
Chicken riggies
Chicken Riggies or Utica Riggies is an Italian-American pasta dish native to the Utica-Rome area of New York State. It is a pasta-based dish usually consisting of chicken, rigatoni and hot or sweet peppers in a spicy cream and tomato sauce, although many variations exist.-Beginnings:The origins of...
, sausage and peppers, and "utica greens", tomato pie is regarded as an idiomatic part of Utica Italian-American cuisine
Italian-American cuisine
Italian American cuisine is the cuisine of Italian American immigrants and their descendents, who have modified Italian cuisine under the influence of American culture and immigration patterns of Italians to the United States...
.
The Trenton tomato pie may even predate the Utica variety. Joe's Tomato Pie (now defunct) was first opened in 1910. Papa's Tomato Pie, whose proprietor learned the trade at Joe's, was opened two years later in 1912.
Trenton tomato pie
Trenton, New JerseyTrenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
, is a town known for its tomato pies. The second oldest tomato pie restaurant in the country, Papa's Tomato Pies, is located in Trenton. Trenton tomato pie is of the thin crust variety. In Trenton's version of tomato pie, the cheese (mozzarella) is placed on the pie first followed by the sauce. A few tomato pie eateries exist in Trenton's Chambersburg district, most famously Papa's, De Lorenzo's Tomato Pies
De Lorenzo's Tomato Pies
De Lorenzo's Tomato Pies a pizzeria that sells tomato pies in New Jersey. It was founded in 1936 by Alexander "Chick" De Lorenzo and officially established in 1947 in Trenton, New Jersey. Since then it has expanded to another location in Trenton and more recently in Robbinsville...
on Hudson Street, and Delorenzo's on Hamilton Avenue.