Italian tomato pie facts for kids
 |
|
| Type | Pizza |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | Northeastern United States |
| Main ingredients | Focaccia-like dough, tomato sauce |
Italian tomato pie is a yummy baked dish popular in America and Canada. It's a bit like pizza, but it's usually eaten cold or at room temperature. Imagine a thick, fluffy bread that tastes a bit like focaccia. This bread is covered with a tasty tomato sauce. Sometimes, people sprinkle romano cheese or oregano on top for extra flavor.
Unlike regular pizza, tomato pie is often baked in a big rectangular pan. It's then cut into square slices, just like Sicilian pizza. If you go to Rhode Island, you might find it cut into long strips and called pizza strips.
Tomato pie is similar to an Italian dish called sfincione. However, they are not exactly the same. Sfincione might have other toppings and is usually served hot. Its crust is also more like brioche bread than focaccia.
This delicious pie has many different names! In Philadelphia, people sometimes call it gravy pie (where "gravy" means tomato sauce) or church pie. In Rhode Island, you might hear it called red bread, strip pizza, party pizza, or bakery pizza. If you're in Montreal, Canada, it's often known as tomato pizza or cold pizza.
A Slice of History
Tomato pie has been around for a long time! An article from 1903 in a newspaper called the New-York Tribune described an early version of this dish.
Some bakeries have been making tomato pie for over a hundred years. For example, Iannelli's Bakery in Philadelphia has been selling it since 1910. In Utica, a family started selling tomato pies from their basement in 1910. They later opened O'Scugnizzo's Pizzeria in 1914.
Today, Italian tomato pie is still a favorite in places like Philadelphia, Utica, Rhode Island, and Montreal.
Gallery
-
A typical sfincione from Palermo, Italy
-
Tomato pie for sale in a grocery store near Utica
-
Pizza strips from Rhode Island
See also
In Spanish: Tomato pie para niños
