cherry tomatoes

Marinated Cherry Tomato Bruschetta with Mozzarella

Late fall and winter are my favorite seasons of the year. I know it’s unusual, but I love the rain. I probably wouldn’t feel the same way if I had to deal with snow and freezing weather. But, I’m lucky enough to live in a place where the temperatures rarely get below 35 degrees F. I do miss the wonderful fresh ripe tomatoes of summer though.

In most places cherry tomatoes are available 12 months of the year, and with a little doctoring they can be quite delicious even in the dead of winter.

This is the perfect way to perk them up. Add a little pesto and mozzarella and you’ll swear it’s late August.

Marinated Cherry Tomato Bruschetta

Ingredients:

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon capers
10 oil-packed anchovy fillets, finely chopped (2 tablespoons)
Crushed red chili flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Slices of mozzarella or a ball of burrata
Pesto
Baguettes, halved and toasted

Method:

In a large bowl, add the tomatoes, oil, vinegar, capers, anchovies, a pinch of chili flakes, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and rest on the countertop (if serving immediately) or in the refrigerator for 8 hours or up to overnight. Bring to room temperature before preparing.
Top each toasted bread slice with a smear of pesto, a slice of mozzarella, and some of the tomato salad.
Or, top the bread with tomato salad and a piece of burrata.
Garnish with microgreens of some chopped basil, if available.

With a glass of wine you would swear it was still summer.

Marinated Cherry Tomato Bruschetta with Burrata

Marinated Cherry Tomato Bruschetta with Mozzarella

I think the folks at Fiesta Friday will enjoy these, something to keep in their back pocket to cheer up a dark day in February. This week is Fiesta Friday #453, come on over and join Angie and the gang at this virtual blogging party.

Tomato bruschetta is one of my favorite summer dishes. I serve it as a starter with drinks, or as dinner itself if there is some good fresh mozzarella or ricotta involved. Unfortunately, tomato season is still a few months away, it lags sadly behind BBQ season. I am mentally ready for those tomatoes. I want them for a hamburger, or a fresh tomato sauce for pasta, or a caprese salad with mozzarella. But, the ones in the market are currently flavorless and mostly disappointing. Even the tomatoes at the farmer’s market were raised in a hot house. My mouth is set for the first dry farmed Early Girls from the Watsonville area. They are grown without any additional water once past the seedling stage. All the flavor is concentrated, oh my they are so good. Well, enough moaning about what I can’t have.

What is there and what can I do? Ok then, I will settle for cherry tomatoes. And roasting them both brings out the sweetness and intensifies the essence of tomato.

Here is a recipe you can serve now, with pride before an outdoor BBQ, while waiting for the first tomatoes of summer (don’t forget a glass of rose). This is an adaptation of a classic mid-summer bruschetta, made with roast cherry tomatoes. The recipe comes from the cookbook “The Fat Radish, Kitchen Diaries“.

Cherry tomato bruschetta with carmelized onions and curry sauce

Onion, Tomato, and Curry on Toast

Olive oil
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 pints cherry tomatoes of mixed colors
Coarse salt
8 thick slices of toasted country bread or sourdough
1/2 cup curry sauce (recipe below)
Small handful of torn basil and cilantro leaves

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Place 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy skillet set over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until well caramelized, be patient as it could take an hour or more. Remove them to a small bowl to cool.

Sliced Yellow Onions

Carmelized Onions
Place the tomatoes in a roasting pan and coat with 2 tablespoons of oil. Roast, stirring now and then, until soft, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
Roast Cherry Tomatoes
To serve, divide the warm onions and tomatoes over the toast. Drizzle each toast with a tablespoon of the Curry Sauce and top with fresh herbs.
Serve immediately.

Cherry Tomato Bruschetta

Curry Sauce

2 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 apple, peeled and cored, thinly sliced
1 (2-inch) piece of fresh ginger, pelled and minced
1 kaffir lime leaf (or zest and juice from a 1 lime, added at the end)
1-1/2 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 (13.5 oz) can of unsweetened coconut milk
Coarse salt

Place the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, apple, ginger, lime leaf, curry powder, and turmeric. Cook, stirring now and then, until softened, about 10 minutes.
Add the coconut milk, bring to a boil, then lover the heat and simmer another 10 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
Remove the lime leaf and puree the sauce in a standard blender or an immersion blender. (Add the lime juice and zest if you did not have a kaffir lime leaf.)
Curry Sauce
Season with salt.