Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Toasted Parmesan Tomato Bread

Labor Day came...and went, yesterday; a huge 'downpour' of rain in the early afternoon here, in S. Florida in Palm Beach County. As for the Ft. Lauderdale and Miami area...no rain, whatsoever!
I had lunch with my family, and came back home early hoping to spend the day relaxing on the beach...no such thing happened. Its as if the rain came out of nowhere...once the downpour starts, there's no 'ending' or 'letup', so you're either stuck in a store, or in your car because the minute you step outside you are drenched from head to toe...even with an umbrella, which by the way will turn 'inside-out' from the strong wind!

I enjoyed my evening with the super comforting, crunchy, fresh tomato toast with the Parmesan topping and even better, a slice of provolone cheese to melt and give me the ooey-gooey cheese effect. You start out making this toast as a garlic toast but totally 'kicking it up a notch' as chef Emeril Lagasse would say.

With all the great cook books, magazines, every now-and-then I like to try some recipes from my local newspaper in the weekly recipe section of the Palm Beach Post!

TOASTED PARMESAN TOMATO BREAD
adapted from the Palm Beach Post Times

4 cloves of garlic minced
1 large sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
ground black pepper
4 large thick slices sourdough bread
4 large tomatoes
3 ounces Parmesan Cheese


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small sturdy bowl, combine the garlic, oil, salt and black pepper to taste. Mix well, then use the back of the spoon to mash the garlic and rosemary together to form a paste.

This method can also be use in a mortar and pestle, or a min food processor. The rosemary will not mash well, but it is fine. Spread quarter of the mixture over each slice of bread.

Note: the original recipe calls for 4 slices of bread and 4 tomatoes, I used 2 slices of bread and 2 tomatoes to cut 2 middle slices from each tomato for the bread.
Also, the original recipe calls for broiling the slices of the bread...I baked it first for about 5 to 10 mines and then added to cheese, and the provolone cheese slices which recipe does not call for.
Also, for the garlic...as you can see on the photo, I purchased the peeled fresh garlic in this plastic jar, and chopped it in the mini food processor. As for the fresh rosemary, it is easier to chop with knife and add to the garlic, and fill the jar up with canola oil (not olive oil)

What I did, was get a small bowl, take a spoonful of the garlic rosemary mixture with the canola oil, and add extra virgin olive oil to the garlic mixture and add the salt and pepper into the bowl and spread some of that mixture on the bread. I topped both slices with the large slices of tomatoes and get it ready to put into the toaster oven. Better to save time and electricity if you only make to slices...use your toaster oven.

Be sure to reserve the tops and bottoms of your tomato slices for another use...don't discard them.

Shave some of the Parmesan cheese over the tomatoes with a carrot peeler, which makes it easier to peel.




Set the assembled bread on a baking sheet in the middle rack of your oven.

(follow this method if you are using 4 slices of bread; I used 2 slices of bread and put mine in a toaster oven...no baking sheet needed because you want the bottom to get toasted, as well.)

Bake for about 7 to 10 minutes, and add one or 2 slices of provolone chees on each slice of bread. You can also use mozzarella instead of the provolone. You can broil bread slices now, and get the cheese nice and brownish, which takes about 3 minutes.

You are ready to serve, and enjoy!
 










I added an extra slice of cheese to broil to make it more bubbly, and ooey-gooey cheesy sensation! A perfect little meal by itself, or a hefty 'snack'!










The grey scene on the ocean from my beach photographed from my balcony, on the second floor
another scene later, from the other side on the intracoastal waters...pinkish sky at dusk means windy day the next day!
 
Thanks for all your sweet comments and support of friendship! Those of you that celebrated Labor Day...hope you had a nice and sunny day! xo
 

34 comments:

Man Ridwan said...

Looks so good, I love that melted butter on the top of tomato, sound perfect for raini day, I had a lot of tomato right now, need to get some cheese later to make this Yummy toasted :)

Patty Magyar said...

That looks better than pizza!

trollanyu said...

Mennyire egyszerű és mégis annyira jól néz ki, tökéletes fogás így magában:) Nagyon szépek a képeid, imádom a naplementéket, olyan, mint egy természet alkotta festmény és mindig más. Remélem minden rendben van a kezeléseddel, szorítok és sokat gondolok Rád:)

Veronica's Kitchen said...

I live near the coast but never that close to the water, how nice it would be to able to take a walk at the beach everyday! Nice yummy toast to have on a relaxing day!

Dawn Yucuis said...

This looks delicious and looks like it's really simple to make. Great comfort food.

Swathi Iyer said...

Congrats for publishing the article in local newspaper, this parmesan crusted tomato bread is really Yumm Elisabeth.

Böbe said...

Amilyen egyszerű, olyan nagyszerű! Na most meg is ennék egyet belőle,huuu de éhes vagyok:))) A képeid megint nagyon csodásak! puszillak.

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Oh yes please, that would do me nicely!

Sissi said...

Elisabeth, I would already be in heaven at the garlic and rosemary stage but the rest of the preparation makes this snack (dinner?) even better. A nice glass of white wine (you said "comfort" haven't you??? ;-) ) and I wouldn't need anything more for an evening meal to make me happy.

Angie Schneider said...

These look like bread pizzas...the topping looks droolworthy, Elisabeth.

Kati said...

Imádom az ilyen melegszendvicseket:) Remélem jól érzed magad, szorítok neked mindig, puszi:)

Mr. & Mrs. P said...

So simple yet they must be so flavorful! YUM!

Mari Núñez said...

I am making this for sure. Wonderful brunch or snack for me and the girls. I usually make something similar with tomato sauce, but this is much quicker and delicious. I am so sure they are going to love this version.

Have a great afternoon Elisabeth.
Hugs

Carmen Anderson said...

Oh these Parmesan Tomato bread look delicious! Great for rainy day brunch at home! Very comforting and very easy to make! P.S It was also pouring down here in NYC on labor day. Maybe this is the beginning of the end of the summer...:-( Hope you had a great labor day weekend! x

Priya Suresh said...

Congrats for getting published Elisabeth..Now am drooling here for that super cheesy bread.

Katalin said...

De gyönyörűséges szendvicseket sütöttél! Szép a naplemente képed is!

Hankka said...

Nagyon guszta a szendvicsed, igazán finom lehet! :) Köszönöm, hogy feltetted a fotókat a Pinterest magyar oldaladra, nagyon aranyos vagy, megtisztelő! :)

Phong Hong said...

Elisabeth, thank you for your kind and comforting words! I would absolutely love to have a slice (or two?) of your delicious looking toasted parmesan tomato bread. Though wary of most cheeses, I would be happy to sample this one. Take care my friend!

Juliana said...

Elisabeth...this look delicious, and so simple to make...yum!
Thanks for the inspiration and hope you are having a lovely week :D

SKIP TO MALOU said...

THis looks like a notch above your usual toasted bread. Comfort on a rainy day. Thank you so much for give me a boost in my blog. Your comments make me smile as always.
Have a happy weekend!
Malou

lena said...

tho you was not able to go to the beach as intended, sitting at home and eating this delicious cheesy tomato bread is still a very luxury thing! love that!

lena said...

i just read the post on your skin problems. Hope you are okay and recovering well .

Liz Berg said...

This sounds like the perfect light dinner to me...and I love your addition of Provolone! I can't imagine such heavy rain...but my yard could certainly use it!

PS...I'm on my way to visit my parents in Iowa. My dad just got out of the ICU and is still in the hospital. I may be scare for a while. xo

Lyndsey Chapin said...

This simple but out of this world bread is just what we would love to have on our table! Yum!

It has been the same weather on our coast. I know it is not uncommon to have summer afternoon showers, but this is ridiculous! We have never had so much rain in the summer without a tropical system out there somewhere! But the sun always seems to be seen on any given day!

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Your toasted tomato bread looks delicious - making me hungry already!

Daiana Molineris said...

Ciao bella!!!:-)
Chebontà queste bruschette...congratulations!!!
Un bacione cara

Gina Stanley said...

I wish we would get rain here, it would hopefully put out some of the fires burning around here at the moment. I think this toast would put out anyones grumbling stomach. I have to say my favorite comfort food is tomatoes, cheese, and of course bread. So glad youa are doing well with your scare. Hope this week gets better.
-Gina-

Paula said...

Wow! These would be great done as paninis too! Hope you are feeling better and staying dry :)

Mary Callan said...

Oh we could do with some rain here! these paninis look amazing :))
Mary x

Kathy said...

These look delicious…Something I would definitely enjoy for my lunch!
As I write this, thunder storms are going through my area! I love a rainy day!

Paula @ Vintage Kitchen Notes said...

Can't go wrong with this type of stuff on toast. Love this ingredients! Simple and so perfect together. I do like to make myself something fast to eat when it's raining.

Amelia said...

Hi my dear Elisabeth, this is a prefect breakfast or for light lunch. Look so delightful, wonderful simple recipe. Wish I can have 2 slices now.. so inviting.

Thanks for the step by step tutorial. With lots of love and a big big hugs.

Anita at Hungry Couple said...

That looks so delicious and I absolutely love the photo of it next to the newspaper photo!

Zsuzsa said...

Ah, what did I miss when the gorgeous tomatoes were coming off the wine! Never mind, we still have some inert ones left in the cool shed and we are having this tonight with a salad.