Focaccia Bruschetta With Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
Slowly roasting the tomatoes at a low temperature for several hours helps bring out the fruit’s natural sweetness and makes for a simple yet delicious topping for warm bread.
Makes 12 bruschetta
3 large plum (Roma) tomatoes or
3 medium slicing tomatoes Kosher or sea salt
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2½ tablespoons extra
virgin olive oil
1½ teaspoons dried oregano
Plain focaccia bread Grated ricotta salata cheese to garnish
1 dozen fresh basil leaves to garnish
Instructions: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Core tomatoes. Cut plum tomatoes in half lengthwise then cut a very thin slice off the rounded side so they don’t rock in the baking dish. If using slicing tomatoes, cut them in half crosswise.
Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, in a baking dish just large enough to hold them.
Season with salt. Scatter the garlic over the tomatoes, then spoon olive oil over them evenly. Season the tomatoes with the oregano, crumbling the herb between your fingers to release its fragrance as you add it.
Bake the tomatoes, basting them with pan drippings every 30 minutes, until they feel soft and look shrunken but have not collapsed, about 3 hours. Set aside and let cool until just warm.
Preheat the broiler. Cut the focaccia or herb slab into 12 “fingers” roughly 1½ inches wide and 4 inches long. The exact size doesn’t matter as long as they are roughly all the same. (You will not use all the bread.) Broil the focaccia on both the top and bottom sides until lightly toasted.
Cut the tomatoes in half again to make 12 pieces. Put a piece of warm tomato on top of each toast and crush it lightly with the back of a fork so that some of the juices seep into the toast. Grate some ricotta salata over each toast and garnish with a basil leaf. Serve immediately.