Summer's Bounty

(Fine Cooking Magazine)

Every summer Ted grows tomatoes in our backyard.  Living in the middle of the city, we don't have a lot of room for this agricultural endeavor, but Ted does a pretty impressive job with our limited space.

This summer we are growing six different kinds of heirloom tomatoes and at the moment they are all starting to ripen.  This means that around here we are eating a lot of fresh, beautiful tomatoes.  The only problem is that we have so many tomatoes that I have to become very creative to use them all up.  Let's face it.  As delicious as a caprese salad is, there's a limit to how many I want to eat in a one month period.

Fortunately, there are lots of other delicious dishes that beautifully showcase these tomatoes.   Over the next couple of weeks I'll be sharing some of our favorite tomato recipes.  I hope that if you have a favorite recipe you'll share it with me.  I need all the help I can get!

Recipe:  Tomato Gratin with Asiago and Fresh Herbs
(Fine Cooking Magazine, August/September, 2011)

Ingredients:



Extra-virgin olive oil 
3 medium beefsteak tomatoes, (about 6 oz. each), sliced 1/4-inch thick 
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
1/4 cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs 
1/4 cup finely grated Asiago cheese 
1 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 
1 tsp. coarsely chopped fresh thyme 


Directions:

Position a rack 6 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler on high. Lightly oil a 10x12-inch (or similar size) broiler-safe baking dish. Arrange the tomato slices in the baking dish in a single, slightly overlapping layer. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt.


In a small bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, Asiago, parsley, thyme, 2 tsp. olive oil, a pinch of salt, and 1/8 tsp. pepper. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture evenly over the tomatoes.


Broil until the breadcrumbs are a deep golden-brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Drizzle with more olive oil and serve immediately.