Tomatoes

What to do with all those tomatoes?

We had neighbors over this evening for a glass of wine and appetizers. It seemed like an opportunity to try out a few things with the our GFF tomatoes. The most important thing about these heirloom tomatoes is to let their flavor take center stage. The ones I have now are showing their age a bit, so I thought something along the bruschetta line made sense.

I used as my starting point a recipe for Cherry Tomato Crostini with Ricotta from my newest cookbook "A Platter of Figs and other recipes" by David Tanis (who could resist a cookbook entitled a platter of figs). However, I did take great liberties with it. Here is my adapted recipe using GFF heirloom tomatoes and local goat cheese:

3 large heirloom tomatoes, seeded, chopped, and drained

1 large shallot, finely minced

2 Tbs red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed, plus a couple more cloves for rubbing toast

1 loaf ciabatta

1/4 - 1/3 lb fresh goat cheese (I used the chevre from Cherry Glen, Boyds, Md)

basil leaves, chopped

Mix shallot and red wine vinegar together and allow to sit for a few minutes

Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a small saute pan. Add 2 crushed cloves of garlic and saute for a couple minutes. Remove garlic and add the olive oil to the shallots. Add tomatoes, some salt and pepper to taste. Allow to sit for a few minutes.

Slice the ciabatta into 1/2 inch slices. Arrange on a baking sheet and toast on both sides under broiler until lightly toasted. Rub toast with with peeled garlic clove.

Spread goat cheese on toast and arrange on a platter. Use slotted spoon to put a heaping tablespoon of the tomato mixture on each toast. Sprinkle basil leaves over crostini.

Enjoy!

Send in your tomato recipes to the blog (either to Kate or to me at donb.sarahd@gmail.com and I will post them here).