I used to be a super picky eater as a kid. My dad once stormed off the dinner table to get me a magnifying glass ‘so that I could see the onions better’ which I was picking out of the bolognese (the only time in my life my dad commented on my eating habits, so I must have been really frustrating that day). Luckily in my twenties, something changed, and I started to find it fascinating trying new flavours. I now love a lot of different food, and yes, onions are now totally fine 🙂
There is however one very common food item that I find as unpleasant now as when I was a kid: raw tomatoes. So you can imagine my face when my husband asked for Bruschetta this morning. I do like the idea of the dish, but whenever they are served at a party or function, I gracefully decline.
The good thing though is, I love love love tomatoes as soon as they are cooked in any shape or form. Bruschetta surely can be made with roasted tomatoes, right? I think so too, especially when they’re homemade.
I’ve had some sourdough ciabatta baking in the oven, so all I needed to do was slow roast some tomatoes and olives, and voila, there I had a Bruschetta that was sweet and tasty, just to my liking. Hope you like my spin on it.
Bruschetta with roasted tomatoes and olives
Ingredients
- 4 medium tomatoes
- 10 kalamata olives
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 red onion
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 4 large basil leaves
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 clove garlic
- 8 slices ciabatta
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 140C.
- Cut each tomato into 8 wedges. Spread out on a silicone paper lined baking tray.
- Cut the olives into quarters and add to the tomatoes. Spinkle with olive oil and a bit of sugar.
- Slowly roast the tomatoes and olives for about 1.5 hours until they look wrinkly and have lost a lot of moisture.
- While the tomatoes are roasting, finely slice the onion and sweat the strips in a fry pan with a bit of olive oil until they are translucent but not crisp.
- When the tomatoes and olives are to your liking, mix them with torn basil leaves and the soft onion strips. Dress with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season to taste.
- Grill or toast the slices of ciabatta. Brush with olive oil then with the cut side of the garlic clove while still hot.
- Arrange some of the tomato mix on each slice of ciabatta.
- Drizzle with balsamic glaze and serve while still warm.
- Bon Appetit!
