The weather has officially turned COLD. I plucked the last of our green tomatoes from the vine a few weeks ago, plopped them in a brown-paper-lined box and waited until they turned bright red to use them up in the deliciousness that is oven-roasted tomato bruschetta.
Here’s what you need:
1-2 baguettes (24 inches in length)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
16-18 tomatoes (mine were beefsteak, any kind will do, but will likely alter the quantity needed)
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Slice your tomatoes about 1/4-1/2 inch thick and place them on a large baking sheet (or two). Add the minced garlic to the olive oil and drizzle it over the tomatoes, then sprinkle with salt and pop in the oven.
Roast them for 4 hours – this will ensure that your house maintains a warm, cozy temperature and is infused with an aroma you can almost taste. The tomatoes should shrink but maintain their shape and will be darker in color but not brown. Sometime during this four hour period, slice your baguette(s) into 1/2 inch thick slices.
After removing the tomatoes from the oven, turn the heat up to 350 degrees. Arrange the bread on a baking sheet (or two) and brush with a bit of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and season with pepper, if desired. Bake them until barely golden, about 10 minutes. After removing them from the oven, place one tomato slice on each toast and serve.
These can be refrigerated for about a week, though after two days, the bread may start to get soggy from the residual tomato juices. I personally don’t mind but don’t say you weren’t warned.
A delicious way to use up those extra tomatoes, if I do say so myself.