What's integral here is a very thin biscuit crust instead of one made of pastry dough. The inspiration is twofold: the tomato pie brought to us in August 1992 by the late novelist and food writer Laurie Colwin and James Beard's recipe for a quiche-like tomato cheese pie, which appeared in his American Cookery (1972). It's fun to imagine inviting the pair of them for lunch and serving this, along with a crunchy green salad and a big, beautiful glass pitcher of iced tea.
02Divide dough in half and roll out 1 piece between 2 sheets of plastic wrap into a 12-inch round (1/8 inch thick). Remove top sheet of plastic wrap, then lift dough using bottom sheet of plastic wrap and invert into pie plate, patting with your fingers to fit (trim any overhang). Discard plastic wrap.
03Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.
04Whisk together mayonnaise and lemon juice.
05Arrange half of tomatoes in crust, overlapping, and sprinkle with half of corn, 1 tablespoon basil, 1/2 tablespoon chives, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
06Repeat layering with remaining tomatoes, corn, basil, chives, salt, and pepper, then sprinkle with 1 cup cheese.
07Pour lemon mayonnaise over filling and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
08Roll out remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch round in same manner, then fit over filling, folding overhang under edge of bottom crust and pinching edge to seal.
09Cut 4 steam vents in top crust and brush crust with melted butter (2 teaspoons).
10Bake pie until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes, then cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.