Marinated Tomato Toasts

Summer fresh tomatoes are marinated with olive oil, garlic, red onions, and balsamic vinegar and piled high on garlic-rubbed grilled toast. Marinated Tomato Toasts are one of my favourite ways to use up my home-grown tomato harvest!

I often crave grilled or toasted bread that has been topped with tomatoes. That’s probably why I make Toasted Tomato Sandwiches so often! But sometimes, I want more flavour, which is why I turn to this recipe. It is basically a common bruschetta, but the difference here is allowing the ingredients to marinate and marry. It is a million times more flavourful this way! Marinated Tomato Toasts are the best, Dear Reader; you have to trust me with this!

I really do think that marinating the tomatoes with the onions and garlic makes for a better-tasting toast topping. But, I understand that some of you might not want to do that. If that’s the case, it will still be delicious, so don’t let the marinating time hold you back. As I said, I just think the ingredients taste better, meaning that the flavours marry together and taste better overall. If you want to eat it fresh, by all means, do so!

If you follow the recipe as written in the recipe card below, be sure to not add the fresh basil until you are ready to pile the tomato mixture onto the toasted bread. There really is nothing worse than fresh basil that is limp, especially when fresh basil ribbons are an option!

TOPPED TOAST POPULARITY

It’s no big secret that I used to have a full-on love affair with The Pioneer Woman.  I watched the show every chance I got.  On one particular episode, Ree dedicated a whole segment to the popularity of toasts.  She also agreed that toast topped with various ingredients had become rather popular, not only for the home cook but on many restaurant menus and especially food trucks. 

I guess the appeal is that they are easy to prepare, extremely easy on the wallet, and completely filling.  I, for one, can make a complete meal on bread!  Additionally, with toasts, each individual taste can be satisfied. But, being that I am on a tomato kick, lately, I wanted to try my hand at these toasts and see what I could come up with.  Little did I know that I would be piecing together the most delicious thing I have ever put in my mouth.  I’m serious!

SUMMER FRESH TOMATOES

If you’re thinking about making this recipe at all, you must have some summer fresh tomatoes on hand, right? The whole concept of tomatoes on toast is about combining freshly chopped tomatoes with a few basic ingredients. Obviously, I have taken some liberties by marinating the tomato mixture, which is not always common practice. No matter how you eat it, fresh tomatoes are always the start!

Any tomato will do, but I think the best tomatoes are the ones with more meatiness. When a tomato is described as being meatier, it simply means that the ratio of tomato flesh to the seeds and pulp mixture is higher. A good example of this is the beefsteak tomato. They are quite large and the walls of the tomato are thick and sturdy. They’re most often found on sandwiches for this reason.

Me, personally, I prefer the roma tomato. In my opinion, this variety has the best flavour, and most certainly, the best colour. A perfectly ripe roma tomato has a deep red colour and just pops in contrast to other recipe ingredients. I use the roma tomato almost exclusively in my recipes. Tomatoes on the vine are perfect for this recipe too!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Bread – Use your favourite bread. I’m using sourdough, but you can use smaller slices, like a baguette, for example.
• Olive Oil – Use good-tasting olive oil. I prefer light olive oil, but you use what tastes good to you.
• Garlic – Freshly minced garlic here! None of that jarred or tube type! You will also need a clove or two of whole garlic; we’ll get to that later!
• Tomatoes – Meaty tomatoes are best. I used roma tomatoes. You will need 8-10 tomatoes.
• Red Onion – You can put in as much red onion as you wish, but it is strong. I used 1/4 cup of thin slices.
• Balsamic Vinegar – Italians love this! Just like the olive oil, use one that you like the taste of on its own.
• Basil – Fresh basil is a must. Do not be tempted to use dried basil from your spice rack.
• Salt & Pepper – Seasonings are needed. I love lots of black pepper in this recipe. There’s a lot of salt too, but the salt brings out the flavour of the tomatoes.
• Parmesan – This is completely optional. Most North American-based bruschetta-type recipes have cheese, so you can add parmesan if you wish.

HOW TO PREPARE THE TOMATO TOPPING

I hope, Dear Reader, that you are not put off by the word marinated. Whenever I look through recipes on Pinterest or in a Facebook group, and see the word marinated, it tends to disappoint me. I know that whenever I marinate something, it has much more flavour. But, you see, I’m impatient by nature. I don’t like to wait for things. But, some things, like these toasts, are worth it. I’m working on my issues!

The first thing you want to do is to cook the garlic. If you absolutely love a strong garlic flavour, you don’t have to do this at all. I find that the raw garlic completely takes over the flavour of the tomatoes if it isn’t cooked first. So, add the olive oil to a saucepan along with the garlic. Over medium heat, cook the garlic just until it is really fragrant and just starting to lose its creamy colour. You don’t want to brown it, just cook it.

Pour the oil and garlic into a glass bowl to cool. If you leave it in the saucepan, it will continue to cook. And, Dear Reader, garlic burns so quickly! So, don’t walk away from the saucepan when cooking the garlic. Otherwise, you might need to start over. Burnt garlic is bitter.

While the garlic and oil are cooling, chop the tomatoes into small dice – about 1/2 inch. Transfer them to a bowl. Next, add the thinly sliced red onions. Finally, add the salt, ground black pepper, and balsamic vinegar. Toss to coat. Now, check to see that the olive oil is cooled. Warm is okay, but not hot. We don’t want to cook the tomatoes. Pour the cooled oil and garlic into the tomatoes. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 12-24 hours. If you are not planning to marinate, you can go ahead and use it immediately.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

When you’re ready to eat, the first thing you should do is remove the tomato mixture from the fridge. It will need about 20 minutes or so to come to room temperature. While it does that, you can prepare the bread. If the bread you have selected isn’t already sliced, go ahead and slice the bread about a third of an inch thick. If you slice it too thick, it won’t be crispy and if you slice it too thin, it will likely burn. Once sliced, lay the bread onto a 450 degrees F preheated grill. You can use an outdoor grill, a grill pan, or even an indoor electric grill.

Grill both sides of the bread until golden brown with nice grill marks. Next, take one whole clove of peeled garlic and gently rub it over each slice of toast. The crisp bread will act as a grater and will gently break down the garlic clove and absorb the garlic scent and oils. Lay the bread onto a large platter and set it aside.

Next, toss the chopped basil into the tomato mixture. Pile the tomatoes onto the prepared bread. Really heap it on there! Remember, toasts are like a meal! If you want, you can sprinkle over some parmesan cheese, but it is optional. Now, doesn’t that sound delicious!?

SERVING OPTIONS

If you’re not the type to eat one of these Marinated Tomato Toasts for a meal, you might be asking yourself what you could serve with them. If I were serving these toasts with something else, I would certainly make them smaller. Using a baguette instead of sourdough might be your best bet here.

For serving options, I would suggest either a Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad or a very simple pasta like this Tomato Balsamic Pasta. It would certainly mimic the flavours of the toasts. You might also consider putting out a nice cheese board to go with the toasts. Cheese is certainly filling and would round out the acidity in the tomatoes and onions. If you still want something heartier, I would certainly opt for my Grilled Flank Steak Caprese. It’s delicious!!