Wow, it is summer in Nova Scotia and it is hot! I don’t know about you but I am feeling resistant to turning on stove – let along the oven. Of course, the BBQ is a great option on these warm summer evenings but what about cookin’ something up without any heat at all? Now, that sounds appealing!
Farmers’ Market Tomatoes with Basil and Mozzarella
- Cut ripe tomatoes (roughly 1lb) into thick slices and lay then on a beautiful wooden cutting board or a serving plate.
- In a small mixing bowl or medium mason jar, whisk (or in the case of a mason jar – with a lid on – shake) 1tbsp of balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp of quality olive oil. Drizzle mixture over the slices of tomato.
- Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
- Top each slice of tomato with a slice of mozzarella – you will need about 1lb of mozzarella and you can cut it thinly.
- Now, for the piece de resistance, top each with a full, fresh basil leaf. You will need about 1 cup of basil leaves, loosely packed when measuring, for this.
- Bon appetit! Serves 4 as a tapas.
Tomato Bruschetta with Toasted Baguette
Okay, admittedly this recipe involves a toaster…
- Chop a mix of tomatoes, totally roughly 2lb. [Really any ripe, in-season tomatoes work beautifully with Roma tomatoes and a rainbow of cherries tomatoes being the traditional choice.]
- Mix the chopped tomatoes with 3/4tsp of sea salt in a non-metal bowl and set aside for 30 minutes or so.
- Pour the salted tomatoes, which will now be sitting in their own juices thanks to the salt, into a colander and let the liquid drain out.
- Chop two cloves of garlic – or more if you like – as well as some red onion (a single small red onion or half of a larger red onion).
- Combine the tomatoes, garlic and onion in a bowl.
- Add pepper to taste (try 1/4tsp) and 1/2tsp of either red vine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. Also chop and add 1tbsp of fresh basil.
- Slice a baguette and toast, serving the warm bread alongside a bowl of bruschetta.
