Slow roasted tomatoes salad with buffalo mozzarella

The tomatoes came in late this year, it was well into August before we saw the first ripe local red beauties. Since they showed up though I have been serving them practically every day in some form or another. I have made gazpacho, salmorejo, bruschetta, tomato salads, tomato sandwiches, pizza, tomato soups, fresh tomato sauce for pasta as well as sliced them into anything else I cook, from green beans to zucchini to fresh beans and tacos. You name it, I have likely made it.

One of the ways I love to serve and eat tomatoes is to slow roast them until they are partially dehydrated. Slow roasting the tomatoes concentrates their flavour and brings out the natural sweetness in them. I don’t let them dry too much though, especially if I plan to serve them as a salad. In this salad I roasted a few round tomatoes, then drizzled them with olive oil and balsamic reduction, sprinkled herbed bread crumbs over and served along with a mound of fresh mozzarella. If I had pine nuts I would have toasted them with a little olive oil and sprinkled on top of the tomatoes. Somehow I don’t have any today. You can add fresh herbs to this salad  if you have them. I added small basil leaves from the four different basil varieties growing in my rooftop garden. They are so wonderful to have around, ready to be chopped or sprinkled into the various foods I make.

Serve the salad with slices of crusty bread and a little olive oil and fleur de sel on the side.

Serves 2.

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Ingredients:

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8 tomatoes, small to medium size

Coarse sea salt

A little sugar

 

1/2 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs

1 tablespoon olive oil

8 green basil leaves, ribboned

A large pinch of salt

 

Olive oil

Balsamic crema

Fleur de sel or maldon salt

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Directions:

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Roasting the tomatoes:

Cut the tomatoes in half along the circumference and place on a foil lined baking sheet.

Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and a pinch of sugar.

Place in a preheated 350℉ oven and roast until partially dehydrated, about 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.

Toasting the bread crumbs:

Heat up the tablespoon of oil in a small skillet.

Add the bread crumbs and herbs and cook until lightly toasted.

Sprinkle with a little salt.

Remove and let cool.

Assembling the salad:

Place 8 tomato halves on each plate

Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Lay a piece of buffalo mozzarella on each plate.

Sprinkle with herbs.

Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic crema and fleur de sel.

serve with crusty bread and addition oil and salt on the side.

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