Once upon a time, I fell hopelessly in love with… well, a bit of a cad. Though the relationship fell apart and my heart was broken to smithereens I did come out with a few valuable lessons – the art of traveling in style, a heightened appreciation for great food & wine, as well as this simple BUT deeelicious tomato recipe.
As many good recipes, this requires very little other than a few great ingredients and a good bottle of wine. This really can only be made with sun ripened field tomatoes so…make it ASAP! I enjoy this with a glass of Fielding Estate Winery Pinot Gris!
Tomato & Cheese Melts:
yield: dinner for 1 spinster & cat, double or triple the recipe for sharing!
4 large ripe field tomatoes
2 Tbsp butter
splash of olive oil
pinch of salt & pepper
dash of worchestershire sauce
4 thin slices of Thunder Oak Gouda (available by mail or at good cheese mongers)
Balderson Cheddar or any good “melting” cheese of your choosing
Slice the top and stem end of the tomatoes off (horizontally). Cut the tomato into two thick slices, repeat with each tomato – 4 thick slices if you did it correctly. Heat a pan over high heat and melt the butter (add a splash of oil to keep the butter from burning). Place the tomato slices in the pan, salt & pepper and sprinkle with a dash of worchestershire. Let the tomatoes caramelize so no fiddling with them! (about 3 minutes). When the tomatoes are crispy on the bottom, flip over (you may wish to add a pat or two more of buttery goodness at this stage) and repeat the same process. Just before the second side is caramelized, top with a thin slice of cheese and cover with a lid (about 1 minute) to melt the cheese.
Cut up some crusty “de la terre” bread (now in our hood – hooray!!) or baguette and serve either on a plate or eat like a savage from the sauté pan (tastes better…and ideal for the singletons out there)! Either way, this is a delicious and quick dinner at this time of the year.
Now what about that affair with… no recipes from that indiscretion but mmmm…sometimes there are recipes that simply can’t be shared!
Got a recipe that came with a lover that left you cold? Share it with The Good Earth!