This past Tuesday, personal chef, owner of Bella Cucina Maria, and my friend, Maria Falck Reina swung by the WGCH studio. The “seasonal chef” has a great collection of information and recipes currently on LoHud Food, offering tips to get the most out of those summer tomatoes.
While we had plenty to discuss, Maria cooked up a delicious dish for me to try on air. The Cherry Tomato Bake recipe (seen below) is PERFECT for everything from meatless Monday to brunch with friends. She took a recipe from one of her favorite food bloggers and added a Greek twist, adding a little feta cheese and fresh herbs.
Check out the full episode of Fork This with IntoxiKate below, and definitely try this recipe. I know I’ll be bringing it to my next potluck. #instayum
Cherry Tomato Bake
Makes 4-6 servings
Ingredients:
- 6 – 8 cups of fresh bread cubes, ½ to ¾”
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
- 2 plumb garlic cloves, minced very finely
- 2 lbs cherry tomatoes, about 5 cups cut in half
- Zest and juice of ½ lemon
- 1 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
- ¼ cup chopped Kalamata olives, optional
- 3 – 4 teaspoons of fresh oregano, picked off the stems
- 12 large basil leaves, rolled and sliced thinly
Directions:
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Place the bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet with a good drizzle olive oil, a light sprinkle of salt, pepper and the garlic and toss with your hands. Bake for 5-10 minutes, or until they get nice a crisp. Remove the pan and immediately reduce the heat to 350 degrees.
- Place the cut tomatoes in a large mixing bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, ¼ teaspoon each of the salt and pepper, and the lemon zest and juice. Let it sit for a few minutes. Then add the feta, olives if using, and fresh herbs. Toss in the bread cubes. It’s ok if they are still a little warm.
- Place in a baking dish sprayed or rubbed with a little olive oil. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes are bubbling a little.
- Cool slightly and serve as a side dish or with poached or fried eggs.
Cook’s note: Any kind of bread will work. I used a multi-grain with seeds and it made the dish very hearty. A simple Italian or sour dough would work well too. You can make this ahead, cool down and rewarm all in the same baking dish. I also opted for slightly less salt on the tomatoes, as the cheese and olives are pretty salty. Taste it after in comes out and season a little more if needed.
{IntoxiKate Tip: Reina and I discussed serving this dish with a fried egg on top for brunch. The next morning, I warmed up the leftovers in the toaster over—kept it nice and crispy!—and placed two poached eggs on top. The runny eggs paired perfectly with the feta cheese and multigrain bread.}
P.S. Check out Maria’s cooking class at Hilltop Hanover Farm THIS Friday from 4-6 p.m. to learn about cooking with seasonal, market produce. For tickets and more information, click here!
Recipe created by Maria Reina of Bella Cucina Maria and Seasonal Chef for LoHud.com/food.
