ROASTED TOMATO BRUSCHETTA
I know bruschetta should have some sort of crusty, crispy bread involved…and you can add it to this wonderful topping. But being that I try to eat low-carb, the bread is a bit off the radar for me!
I love this so much, though. On top of burgers, fish, omelets, chicken…stirred into cottage cheese, ricotta, or even Greek-style plain yogurt, or over slices of fresh mozzarella…it’s so good.
Inspired by Biba’s recipe in her book Biba’s Italy, this has been a favorite in my house for a long time…and will be forever!
Add it to the top of toasted bread if you must…you will want to just eat it out of the spoon, too!
The process seems daunting, but it’s worth it. And the sweetener REALLY adds to the end flavor. (I’ve actually reduced the amount of sweetener Biba suggested, but don’t leave it out!)
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1 pound cherry or grape tomatoes
5 Roma tomatoes
3 teaspoons Splenda/sugar
7 fresh basil leaves, chopped
3 cloves of garlic (put through a garlic press or finely minced)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Black Pepper
1/3 cup Shaved Parmesan cheese
.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Cut cherry or grape tomatoes in half. Lay cut side up in a pie plate – single layer. Squeeze them in to fit! Sprinkle with 2 of the minced cloves of garlic. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Roast in oven, uncovered for about 3 hours.
Tomatoes will be shriveled and almost dry. If they start to burn, turn oven down to 200. Sprinkle Splenda/sugar over them the last 45 minutes of roasting. Remove from oven and let cool. Meanwhile, cut Roma tomatoes in quarters and squeeze to remove seeds and then dice them. Add to roasted tomatoes along with remaining clove of garlic, basil, oil and cheese. Toss well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Makes 8 servings – 1/4 cup each
Per Serving: 102 Cal; 2 g Protein; 8 g Tot Fat; 5 g Carb; 1 g Fiber; 1 g Sugar; 64 mg Sodium
Linda, I have been drying tomatoes ALL summer (there’s a guy who lives not far from me that sells them really cheap, like $1 a pound) and I am so going to use some in this! This looks delicious!
I agree about the cottage cheese stir-in too; I have been adding the dried tomatoes to drained yogurt or cottage cheese all summer too; also add in a little oregano and garlic powder (and a packet of Splenda, it seems to intensify the whole taste) and you have “pizza cheese” — yum.