Got over-ripe tomatoes or cherry tomatoes? Roast’em baby roast’em! Roasted Tomatoes with Cheese and Basil are a beautiful topping for baguette slices, avocado/hummus toast.
So I have this thing about not wasting food. It makes me pretty angry. And I am not normally an angry person. But throw food away in front of me and see what happens. I dare you. Hulk-lady aside, when you have overripe tomatoes please please don’t toss them. Instead make Roasted tomatoes with cheese and basil.
How many of us constantly throw away perfectly good food? Whether we served ourselves too much, or we like the food and toss it or it went bad in the fridge. It happens. But at the same time, just think about how many people in the world right now need food.
For me, the motivation is my family. I have a lot of family living in Venezuela. And currently the political situation there is terrible. I’m talking full blow economic, political and food crisis. 87% of Venezuelans say their income is now insufficient to purchase their food needs. And at the same time, there is a complete and utter food shortage. So even if you have the money you cannot buy food.
Routine stories of my cousins or family members waiting in line for hours upon hours to buy a bag of rice or milk has become the norm. And now the latest news, no bread, no flour and no yeast. This is the reality that my family lives in. And sad to say, there is little to nothing I can do to help.
And don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to be a Debbie downer nor trying to imply I’m some sort of food saving saint. But this is something that is important to me, something I am trying to improve upon and something I know we can all do better at. So back to throwing away food, just don’t do it. Eat it, save it, share it, donate it. It may not seem like you are affecting the world, but trust me you are. Food is the most powerful basic necessity we have that keeps us going, why waste it.
Next time you have over-ripe tomatoes. Tomatoes that have been sitting there for days and need to be used, just toss them in some olive oil, salt, pepper, cheese and basil. Roast roast roast those beauties and enjoy a lovely appetizer from a humble simple ingredient.
Yields Yields about 14-16 slices
Ingredients
- 4 tomatoes, sliced
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, thinly chopped
- olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Spread out tomato slices and drizzle each lightly with olive oil. Top each tomato with a layer of parmesan and then a layer or mozzarella. Add the chopped basil on top of each tomato. Sprinkle each slice with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Turn off oven and broil for 2-3 minutes to brown the cheese
- Serve as a side or with yummy toasted baguette slices.
Originally posted 2019-06-10 06:31:19.
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