What with the bounty of tomatoes coming in right now I have been looking at a lot of ways to use them and I have been making this great treat often this year.
3 average, ripe tomatoes chopped coarsely;
3 cloves of garlic thru a press;
2 shallots chopped fine;
about 8 leaves of fresh basil chopped very fine;
honey;
salt/pepper;
olive oil;
4 ounces of coarse grated parmesan cheese;
butter;
garlic powder;
loaf of Italian or French bread
Combine the first four ingredients in a quart bowl, mixing well. Add about enough honey to “just” take the sour edge off the tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add about 4 tbsp. of olive oil, and the shredded cheese then mix everything well and set aside to rest for two or three hours.
Split 1/2 of the loaf of bread equally from end to end so you have a top and a bottom. If needed, trim the top so that this half will sit without rolling when placed on its top. Place on a cookie sheet or baking stone and butter the cut side. Sprinkle the garlic powder on the buttered bread and broil on low and 10″ from the fire just until the bread is starting to get golden brown. Give the tomato mix a good stir then spoon the mixture onto the bread halves spreading it out so the layer is even. Return this to the broiler, still on low, until the top is bubbly and the tomato mixture is hot thru. Serve.
If wanted, add a layer of pepperoni slices to the tomato topping and then cover with shredded mozzarella to make a pseudo pizza. Some ground and browned Italian sausage can be added to the tomato mix if desired. Ma and I like the original method or the pizza style, but every once in a while the sausage style hits the table too. This is good eats and the food is super healthy. We like garlic and probably add a bit much to our batches but then we don’t have vampires hanging around either. lol
If you have lots of tomatoes this year and want to try something fresh instead of using canned or frozen tomatoes, the Brueschetta is a super meal in itself.
