Oven roasting transforms these tomatoes from ho-hum to amazing! Now fresh bruschetta can be delicious all year long!
It’s hard to believe, but it’s the end of June in 2024, and we have not had a single Tapas Monday this year. My husband has been working on a healthier course of eating on weekdays. So, I eliminated sparkling wine and fun tapas dishes. However, we do both bring lists of topics to Monday dinners, so maybe Tapas Monday is kind of there? I may need to reawaken my culinary creativity and find some healthy dishes to revive Tapas Monday. This topping, served on a toasted flatbread, could work well.
The original post from May 2019
My husband and I have celebrated Tapas Monday for over a decade. Begun at a time when there were kids at home, and we wanted time for us as couple, it’s lasted for years. The funny thing is that now that we are empty nesters, and theoretically have more time on our hands, we have had fewer Tapas Mondays.
Some of this can be attributed to the fact that we’ve been on the road. A. LOT. As in we have been away from home for two-thirds of 2019. Some of our travel has allowed me to make a tapas dinner; some of it hasn’t.
Some of it can be attributed to the fact that with only two of us at home, there isn’t as urgent a need for us to have alone time. It’s the de facto status during the school year.
However, it’s a tradition I would like to keep. It’s okay with me if we don’t have a Tapas Monday every week. Such is life. But it’s something that is good for the two of us to do. We plan lists of topics to discuss. I get to stretch my culinary muscles and create a menu of small dishes that will please us both. There’s candlelight and sparkling wine. What more could you want?
So, here we are. It’s April, and we’re home for a couple weeks. This schedule obviously shouts for a tapas menu. Having been away from home (and my baking tools), I was certain that homemade bread would be on the menu. What wasn’t certain was what would top the bread. Knowing that the tomatoes at my grocery store would be in their sad, winter shape, I didn’t think a typical bruschetta would be an option.
I was right. Typical bruschetta is a definite no in early April. Roasted bruschetta is a totally different, although amazingly similar, option. It may take two (2!) hours of roasting, but the flavor it produces is worth all 120 minutes. Hello, delicious Tapas Monday dish!
Roasted Tomato Bruschetta
Ingredients
- 8 plum tomatoes halved lengthwise
- 1 tablespoon good olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Salt and pepper
- 6-8 fresh basil leaves thinly sliced
- Toasted baguette slices
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 300 F.
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Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer.
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Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
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Sprinkle with minced garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper.
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Roast for 1 hour; remove tray from oven.
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Using tongs (or fingers, if brave), tip each tomato half to remove liquid.
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Return tomato halves to oven, and roast for another hour or until the tomato skins are wrinkled and the cut sides are browning.
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Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature.
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Slice tomato halves to fit on crostini and garnish with sliced basil.
