Fresh from the Garden: Lazy Summer Tomato Dip
Fresh summer tomatoes are the best. Last summer I hit the jackpot and was asked to pick my cousin's tomatoes while they were on vacation for a week. I so graciously (hehe) agreed to till their gardens of all sorts of produce. If you're lucky enough to have and abundance of home-grown tomatoes and are wondering what to do with them, this can be whipped up in no time. You can also snip some fresh parsley from that garden of yours, too.
Originally this was going to be a pasta dish and that's where the lazy part enters into the equation. Yes, I was too lazy to see a pasta dish to completion and instead, roasted some tomatoes with some other stuff, dipped bread in it and called it a night. Worse {and lazier} things have happened. So make it as a light vegetarian meal, serve as an appetizer with crostini or you could even use it as a topper for an Italian turkey or chicken burger.
Lazy Summer Tomato Dip
Serves: 2-4 as a side
Preparation Time: 20-30 minutes (mostly inactive)
Ingredients:
1 lb. smallish ripe tomatoes (cherry, grape, campari, romas cut in half, etc.)
1 tbsp. (or more) olive oil
1/4 small shallot, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, sliced or minced
1 tsp. honey (optional)
1 tbsp. kalamata olive spread (or a small handful of kalamata olives minced)
1 tbsp. capers
1 large handful of parsley, chopped & divided
1/2 c. shaved Parmesan
1/4 c. breadcrumbs
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a glass baking dish, add tomatoes and drizzle with a tablespoon or so of olive oil. If you use roma (or larger) tomatoes, cut them in half and place them cut-side down. Roast in the oven until they're slightly blistered and not at all charred.
2. Remove from oven and add the shallots, garlic, honey, olive spread, capers and half of the parsley. Mixed well and then top with the cheese and bread crumbs. Place back in oven and continue to roast until the cheese begins to melt. Top with the rest of the fresh parsley.
