Summertime Tomato Gratin
Let's talk about the fresh basil I'm going to add to my Summertime Tomato Gratin.
Equipment
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 bread knife Serrated
- 1 paring knife
- 1 spatula
- 1 saute pan 12-inch
- 2 mixing bowls Large
- 2 rimmed baking sheet pans
- 1 cutting board
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Croutons:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 loaves Tuscan Ciabatta bread Cut into a 3/4 inch dice
- 2 tbsps kosher salt
- 2 tsps black pepper Freshly ground
Ingredients For Tomato Gratin:
- 3 pounds good ripe tomatoes Cores removed, 3/4 inch dice
- 2 tbsps *E.V.O.O. See notes
- 3 1/2 cups Tuscan Garlic Ciabatta bread (substitute a good Artisanal bread) Toasted and 3/4-inch dice
- 3 cloves garlic Thinly sliced, if large, use 3 cloves
- 2 tsps granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper Freshly ground
- 3/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese Freshly grated
- 2 heaping tbsps fresh basil Stems removed and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.Instructions for the Croutons:Dice the Ciabatta into 3/4-inch cubes. Divide evenly the bread cubes onto 2 rimmed baking sheet pans. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon of fresh-ground black pepper to each tray. Toss to coat, spreading the cubes out into a single, even layer on each tray. Bake until golden brown and the bread cubes have the texture of crunchy croutons, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and set it aside. Continue to leave the oven on.Instructions for the Gratin:In the meantime, add olive oil to a sautè pan. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the sliced garlic. Cook the garlic, stirring frequently, until it browns slightly around the edges, and you can smell the garlic aroma, around 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, Kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper, and stir to combine. Increase the heat to medium-high, cook for 8 to 10 minutes until the tomatoes release their juices and begin to concentrate their flavor. Turn the heat off.Add in the 3 1/2 cups of croutons. Mix in the croutons until they are coated well. Press down slightly with a spatula to submerge all the croutons, allowing them to absorb the tomato juices. This dish will look like a savory bread pudding.Scatter the remaining croutons over the top. Again, press those down just a little bit so they don't move around during the cooking process. These will bake up nice and crunchy, giving another layer of texture to the top of the gratin. Add the freshly grated Pecorino Romano evenly all over the top.Transfer the pan to the oven to bake for 40 to 45 minutes. After 30 minutes, loosen the edges of the crust with a spatula and allow any juices to rise.After around 45 minutes, transfer the pan to a cooling rack. The gratin will still be slightly jiggly when you move the pan. You want to let it rest so the gratin sets up, 5 to 10 minutes.I talked about this in the introduction. I'm not adding fresh basil to the entire gratin because there are only two of us eating this today, and I'm not sure if we'll be able to eat it all. Once you chop fresh basil, it will discolor, and adding to the entire dish is not a good idea. Instead, I'm going to be sprinkling the fresh basil over our servings. If you're planning to serve this whole pan immediately, add 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped basil on top of the tomato gratin.There you have it, my Summertime Tomato Gratin.
Notes
1) Prep the bread, garlic, and tomatoes before starting this dish.
2) *E.V.O.O. is an acronym for Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
3) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through the online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.