I’ve been especially interested in heirloom tomatoes lately. Their unusual shapes and gorgeous colors have me mesmerized in the market produce section as I envision utilizing these edible jewels in salads, tossed with pasta or served roasted with a myriad of Spring and Summer fare.
I found clamshells of mini-heirloom tomatoes that were just too enticing to pass up the opportunity to roast them in this quick and tasty dish.
What is an Heirloom Tomato?
Heirloom Tomatoes are varieties of the vegetable that’s been passed down through generations of a family due to certain favorable characteristics. Tomatoes, in general, are a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium and Potassium.
Flavors of tomatoes, fresh basil and garlic…really. What could be better on a warm day with a glass of Pinot Gris or a Sauvignon Blanc? These flavors roasted with any sized tomatoes make a palate sing. This quick and easy, yet packed with familiar flavors that have a natural synergy can work as either:
- An Appetizer
- A light opener before a meal
- A side dish
- A snack or light lunch fare
I enjoyed more than my share of servings and savored every bite full as a meal.
Towards the end of the 15 minutes or so when roasting these tomatoes for this dish, you’ll appreciate the delicious aromas of slivered fresh basil, cloves of garlic, and olive oil. These aromas from the pan you’ll pull out of the oven of these jewel-colored tomatoes promises an awakening of your palate. Serve alongside or on top of cold slices of fresh buffalo or whole-milk mozzarella cheese.
Finish off these flavors by pairing it with a light white wine. Buon Appetito!
- Found some Whole Milk, Fresh Mozzarella at Trader Joe’s that contained about 24 1/3 ounce mozzarella balls. These worked out well.
- Used a garlic flavored olive oil to line the pan under the tomatoes. If you have flavored olive oils like garlic or basil…they would work very well.
- For the bread crumbs, I used a whole-wheat, flax seed bread and dried-out two slices in the oven at 200 degrees for an hour. Two slices of bread will give you about 1 cup of bread crumbs. When the bread is completely cool:
- Use a food processor to process down to crumbs or
- Break slices up to fit in a Ziploc/plastic bag. Seal the bag and break down the bread pieces into crumbs with your hands/kitchen mallet/bottom of a heavy pan.
- This would work well served over a bed of pasta or a side of cold-cut meats.
- Pair it with a light white wine, like a Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc for truly good eats.
Makes about 4-6 Servings
1 – 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 – 2 lbs mini-heirloom or cherry tomatoes – or mix of both
1 cup fresh whole-wheat bread crumbs
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil leaves (preferably Genovese), plus whole smaller leaves for garnish
2 cloves garlic, minced
Coarse Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
8 ounces (about 227 g) fresh buffalo or whole-milk mozzarella cheese, drained and cut into 1/4-inch slices or cubes
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large-sized baking sheet with aluminum foil (large enough so that tomatoes are single layered without too much crowding). Drizzle olive oil on the prepared pan to even coat.
Cut each tomato in half and place cut-side up on the prepared pan.
Mix together the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, sliced basil, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the tomatoes.
Roast tomatoes until they are soft and starting to shrivel around the edges, about 15-20 minutes.
Place sliced mozzarella pieces on a serving dish or individual serving dishes and set roasted tomatoes on top of the cheese. Before serving or presenting either the platter or individual serving dishes, garnish with smaller fresh, whole basil leaves.
Enjoy as an appetizer, salad, side or…a meal with a lovely glass of wine!
Samantha anobile says
Delicious!
Nicole Presley says
Wow! You salad looks amazing! I love all the colors, and am a big fan of heirloom mini tomatoes myself. I used them recently in a salad with cauliflower and you couldn’t help but to be drawn to the color! I’m loving your blog and the pretty photographs!
redkathy says
Now that’s eating! Just read a post about South Philly. The Italian Market is wonderful. Your salad is something that might be found on my grandmothers table after a South Philly road trip! Amazing flavors found in the simplest of ingredients! Just lovely Cristina!!!
Karen says
This is the quintessential summer dish! Perfect combination of flavors and textures, and such beautiful presentation. 🙂
Ling says
Absolutely love the variety of colors in this dish!
Kate@Diethood.com says
This is one of those perfect snacks!! Can’t go wrong with tomatoes and mozzarella. Beautiful job, as always!
Magic of Spice says
I just love heirloom tomatoes, especially the minis 🙂 Have have half my garden filled with them and this is a perfect dish to use some up when the next batch is ready for harvest 🙂
Vicki @ Wilde in the Kitchen says
The photos in this recipe are just amazing, I love all the colors! The recipe looks pretty tasty too 🙂
Sandra says
This dish is calling my name. I bought heirloom tomatoes a couple of years ago and they are fantastic. Thank you for the wine pairings. Your recipe brings to mind images of sitting on the deck at dusk, enjoying the warm weather and a great meal.
Irina@thecoffeebreak says
I am in love with tomatoes right now 🙂 Could eat them all day long! Thank you for sharing with this recipe!
Jan says
Gorgeous photos! I want to dive right in 😉 I love to bake tomatoes topped with breadcrumbs! Winning combo.
Emily @Cleanliness says
This is absolutely stunning!!!
Mindy says
Delicious. And there’s that winning tomato-basil combination.
Liz says
Oh, what a beautiful salad! And I’m extremely envious of those gorgeous heirloom tomatoes…how delicious!
RavieNomNoms says
This looks gorgeous and something I would eat for a snack, side dish, or even a light meal! Simply delicious!
Lindsay @Eat, Knit, Grow says
Yum! That looks delicious! I love those mini heirlooms so much!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
I love those mini moz. balls at Trader’s too. They are great b/c they are already bite sized. I make tomato salads all the time but I’ve never tried mixing in bread crumbs, sounds great.
Maris (In Good Taste) says
I am now totally craving this salad and it is early in the morning! Beautiful job!
Tabitha@WellJourn says
These look delicious! I hope to grow some this summer and give this a try. Thanks for sharing!
Lisa { AuthenticSuburbanGourmet } says
This is an absolutely perfect appetizer! I am making this over the weekend. Trader Joe’s mini mozzarella balls are the best. Delish!!
Roxana GreenGirl says
such a colorful and elegant dish. love these small tomatoes and usually use them in my salads to add more color.
thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe Cristina.
briarrose says
I will make my tomatoes grow faster with the power of my mind! 😉 This looks so good. Perfect for when I’m overrun by the tomato crop.
The Rowdy Chowgirl says
Those tomatoes are absolutely gorgeous. This is my ideal meal. Now, if we could just get a warm, sunny day to enjoy it!
Jill Colonna says
Oooh. How can you look the same way at these tomato-mozzarella salads that they serve in bistro restaurants? This is just another level. Beautiful textures with the different breadcrumbs, garlicky oil and fragrant toms. Who could ask for more?
Nami @ Just One Cookbook says
Wow what a beautiful and colorful salad! It’s interesting you add bread crumbs in the salad! Not only it looks delicious, it sounds very easy to prepare too! 🙂 Thank you for sharing Cristina!
Jennifurla says
I LOVE them too, so pretty! We eat them in the evenings with a little cube of cheese. Lovey.
Jean says
I have a bowl of regular Roma tomatoes waiting to be roasted so I can bring out as much sweetness from them as I can. These colorful little heirlooms certainly don’t need as much help. I’m really liking the addition of bread crumbs and parmesan and I think I know which TJs mozzarella you’re talking about. 🙂
Can’t wait until my little heirlooms are ready for me to pick later this summer. 🙂
Thanks for the inspiration, Cristina!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says
What an incredible array of colors! This is a beautiful salad, Cristina, and uses all my favorite flavors. There’s something so irresistible about the simple combo of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Blog is the New Black says
This looks SO wonderful! I cannot wait to try it. What a great presenation!