Roasted tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, and a big loaf of crusty bread. That’s all you need for the ultimate lazy late summer meal.
It’s been hot, humid, and rainy here for what feels like weeks. In fact, it’s so hot in our apartment that we barely feel like moving, let alone cooking up dinner after a long day at work. This has meant that we’ve been ordering far more take-out than we should. For the most part that’s been fine because it saves us a lot of time and energy and keeps our kitchen from feeling even more like a sauna than it already does. But last week I had a severe allergic reaction to something I ordered and ended up with a late night visit to the E.R. on Wednesday night. I am fine now, but it was super scary and not at all fun. And I honestly have no idea what it could have been, so I’m carefully avoiding anything I ate that evening until I can get tested. Fingers crossed I’m not allergic to anything I love! In an attempt to make food at home that wouldn’t send me into a fit of hives and swelling, we made this super simple, super delicious dinner of Fresh Mozzarella and Roasted Tomatoes that I had seen in Food & Wine. And oh my goodness, did it hit the spot. And lucky for me, roasted tomatoes are easy to make in the toaster oven so I didn’t need to heat up the kitchen. Because it turns out that roasted tomatoes are kind of amazing.
I essentially followed the recipe and used regular cherry tomatoes that I cut in half and roasted until they shriveled, and then roasted small tomatoes on the vine with a drizzle of olive oil until they burst.
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Fresh mozzarella with roasted tomatoes
Makes: 3-4 servings
Ingredients
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
- 1 lb cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 lb small tomatoes on the vine
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- salt and pepper
- crusty bread
Directions
Preheat your oven or toaster oven to 300 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the halved cherry tomatoes on the sheet, cut side up. Bake in the oven for about 2 hours, or until the tomatoes look like they are half dried and shriveled. Remove pan from the oven and lift parchment paper (with tomatoes) off the pan and onto a cooling rack.
Increase the heat to 350 F and line the baking sheet with another sheet of parchment. Place the tomatoes on the vine on the sheet (still on the vine) and drizzle with the olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Bake for about one hour, or until tomatoes are soft and the tops are bursting. Remove from oven.
Serve both sets of tomatoes with the sliced mozzarella, sprinkles of salt and pepper, and another drizzle of olive oil. Eat with some good crusty bread and enjoy!
Notes
Adapted from Food and Wine
*The tomato/cheese amounts are all estimates. Use more or less of each type of tomato if you like. Just roast and enjoy!
