Baked Panzanella Caprese

[QSis]

Giada Delaurentis made this simple and delicious recipe on her show so I tried it. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/g...ipe/index.html

Unfortunately, I waited so long after I'd bought the fresh mozzarella, that it went sour on me, so I used a blend of shredded mozzarella and other Italian cheeses. It was wonderful!

I used some of the last tomatoes and basil from my garden, and some storebought sliced potato bread for the toast. Loved it!

Lee

Baked Panzanella Caprese

Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing baking sheet
• 5 vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 (8-ounce) balls fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices and patted dry with paper towels
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 packed cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• Olive oil, for drizzling
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 to 8 (1/2-inch thick) slices country white bread

Directions

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 12-inch rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.
Arrange the tomato slices on the bottom of the baking sheet in a single layer. Drizzle with the balsamic vinegar. Lay the cheese slices on top in a single layer. Sprinkle with the garlic and basil and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the bread slices on top and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 25 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the bread is crisp and golden. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

[MexicoKaren]

Oh my, that looks wonderful. We had some bruschetta when we were out for dinner last week with roasted tomatoes that had been dressed with balsamic vinegar. Just wonderful. That looks like a great recipe with few and simple ingredients that ends up tasting and looking pretty spectacular. Thanks for sharing it.

[UncleRalph]

well damn, I think I can have some fun with that!! Thanks for sharing!

[lifesaver91958]

Yum!

[Cooksie]

I like, especially the little bit of cheese that oozed out and got brown!

[QSis]

Made this again for the first time in years, with one of my last tomatoes and one slice of white bread. Nice that I had just the few things I needed.

This time, I put a piece of aluminum foil in the toaster oven tray with a couple of T. butter. I turned the heat on low to melt the butter, swirled around each quarter of the bread, placed the four slices of tomato on the foil, then topped them with the shredded mozzarella cheese, balsamic, and chiffonade of basil. Topped the stacks with the bread, buttered side up.

Turned up the heat and baked about 5 minutes, until the toast was golden and the cheese melted.

Great, easy side dish to serve with rotisserie chicken on a busy Friday night!

Lee

[Sass Muffin]

Whoa!!

I love that!

[QSis]

This time, I had a bunch of New England hot dog rolls left over, a chunk of sliceable mozzarella, and a ton of tomatoes.

SO good! Like an upside down pizza!

Lee

[lilbopeep]

Looks good. Recipe/method please. TIA

[QSis]

Originally Posted by lilbopeep

Looks good. Recipe/method please. TIA

Peep, check the first post in this thread.

Lee