Grilled Tomato Bruschetta

Picking up our share last week, I was disappointed to find that we were short on pluots and peaches.  I was immediately buoyed by finding out that we had received extra heirloom tomatoes, and our benevolent CSA coordinator gave me a bunch of bonus heirlooms instead of the stone fruit.  Having been mildly overloaded with peaches, plums, etc. the past month or two, this was a very welcome development.  

I knew right away what I wanted to do with some of these - grilled tomato bruschetta. 

I'm admittedly an admirer of Martha Stewart, or at least her recipes.  I don't really know much about her decorating, empire-building, etc., but she seems to know what she's doing. 

Here's what you'll need for this recipe:

• about 1.5 pounds (heirloom) tomatoes cored and halved
• 2-4 slices of italian bread, sliced THICK
• olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced (leftover from last week's CSA)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh basil (we got CSA basil this week and it is fantastic)

While it is good to have tomatoes of a consistent size, it isn't necessary.  Core and halve tomatoes, then toss with a good amount of salt and pepper with a tablespoon of olive oil.

Heat grill to medium-high, oil the grates, and put the tomatoes on.

Grill for about 5-10 minutes per side, or 5-7 for smaller tomatoes.

Remove from grill to a medium bowl, and allow to cool while you brush the bread on both sides with a generous amount of olive oil.  Add the garlic and red wine vinegar to the tomatoes.

The tomatoes will still give off a fair amount of liquid.  This is OK, just don't spoon ALL of it onto the bread when you finish.  Some of the liquid is good, and will soak into the toasted bread nicely.  As the tomatoes cool, grill the bread for 2 minutes per side.  When the tomatoes are somewhat cooled, cut into smaller pieces with scissors.

When the bread is done, spoon tomato mixture on top and then top with basil.  The flavor is greatly enhanced over regular bruschetta - the heat of the grill caramelizes some of the sugars in the sweet heirlooms, and the grilled bread is crusty on the outside and warm and soft inside.  Fresh basil is also a must.  

I can't recommend this enough.  Enjoy!

Prettier photo from www.marthastewart.com: