Tomato season is coming in hot and we have plenty of juicy, large tomatoes to show for it. We love tomatoes in our family, so we are looking and using allll the recipes. A twist on one of my favorites is a roasted tomato caprese salad with fresh basil.
This year we are growing a variety of tomatoes (Big Boy, Cherokee purple, Early Girl, Brandywine, Red Pear, and Roma). For this recipe, we used our Cherokee tomatoes.
Cherokee purple tomatoes come from Tennessee and are thought to come from the Cherokee Native American tribe. The taste of these tomatoes is very flavorful, rich, and sweet. The color is a bit dusky on the outside with a deep red on the inside.
They can also be enjoyed on sandwiches, salads, or pizza sauce (my toddler likes to just eat them off the vine). Any way you choose, this is a delicious tomato!
Roasted Cherokee Purple Tomato Caprese Salad
Ingredients
3 large tomatoes sliced
1 tbsp minced garlic
Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt/ pepper to drizzle (as desired)
1 tsp sugar (to help cut acidity of tomato)
Mozzarella (we slice up about less than 1/2 an inch)
Fresh basil leaves for each tomato slice
Directions
Pre heat oven to 275 degrees.
Slice tomatoes lengthwise and place on baking sheet with parchment paper. Drizzle with garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar.
Bake for about 1-2 hours till tomatoes are caramelized and concentrated (check on periodically).
Slice mozzarella and place on top of tomato with basil.
Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil to finish
This recipe was a tasty appetizer for a summer pizza night! It would be great in any season (also in Winter months when your tomatoes are not as flavorful). If you use this recipe, be sure to tag @thearrowsfarm to let us know!
If you are local to the North Georgia area, be sure to stop by Cowboy Bob's on Fridays 8-12 to check out our tomatoes!