Last night was a night for a simple, light dinner. After a day of too-short naps and, consequently, a grumpy one year-old, I needed dinner prep to be quick and easy (with an easy clean-up as well). My sister Amy introduced me to this scrumptious and easy dish last Christmas, and I fell in love. I tried it again at New Years, but didn't have the oven hot enough, so I ended up with tough, dry bread and chewy cheese. This attempt turned out perfectly from the simple change of cranking the oven up another hundered degrees. This is such a great easy dinner, and Bria loved eating chunks of mozzarella and tomato as I was preparing. We continued the tone of the meal by using paper plates and dining outside-- the quintessential summer night, if you ask me.
You will need:
1 loaf any dense, artisan bread-- I use ciabatta
Balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
4-6 Roma tomatoes
Fresh and soft mozzarella (the kind that comes in a ball or tube-like loaf)
Salt and pepper
Fresh basil
Slice bread loaf in half lengthwise. Cut halves into desired size. Liberally drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over bread until fully covered. Top bread with sliced tomatoes and mozzarella (cut into chunks or slices-- whichever you prefer.) Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top. Bake in a 425 degree oven until the cheese turns golden. Top with shredded basil leaves and serve.
Thank you for posting this! I have been wanting to make this, but I couldn't remember the details.
ReplyDeleteWhat brand of mozarella do you get? Also - do you get it at a normal grocery store?
I bought my mozzarella at Costco. It comes in a double pack. But you can also buy it at the grocery store. It will be in the regular cheese case by the parmasans, the ricottas, and other nicer cheeses.
ReplyDelete