August 7, 2018
Greetings All,
Oh swell. Another heatwave. We must do everything we can to keep cool. I know how! This week’s recipe is a cool tomato-on-toast dish. No cooking involved and, since tomatoes are at the peak of their season right now, it will be so delicious, you’ll forget about the heat for a few moments.
TOMATO TOASTS
Ingredients
- 3 or 4 ripe tomatoes
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 5 large slices hearty sourdough bread, about 1/2-inch thick(really, any crusty bread will do)
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled
- Salt and pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Basil leaves, for garnish.
- Cut 2 tomatoes in half crosswise. Stand a box grater in a bowl and grate the tomato using the cut sides, through the large holes. You should have 1 cup or so of coarse tomato purée* Set aside. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. **
- Toast the bread until brown and crisp.
- With your fingers, rub the top of each toast with a garlic clove. You will see the cloves get smaller as the garlic is pushed into the bread. (For a less garlicky toast, press lightly when rubbing.)***
- Place toasts on plates. Spoon and spread a heaping tablespoon of tomato purée over each toast. Then arrange tomato slices and cherry tomatoes randomly on top.
- Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper and a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil per toast. Garnish with whole or torn basil leaves.
Tips
- *If you don’t want to bother with grating tomatoes, rub the toasted bread first with garlic, then with 1 or 2 halved tomatoes, until top surface is quite juicy, then continue with the recipe (step 5).
- **To halve cherry tomatoes, put them between the covers of two takeout containers. Hold your hand on top of the top cover and run a knife between the two covers. Voila – halved cherry tomatoes!
- ***To get that garlic smell off your fingers, touch press them to anything made of stainless steel – a knife, a pot, anything.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. It really is a lifesaver on a hot, humid day.
Have a delicious week!
Best,
Judi