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Mariel here. This past New Year’s Eve, my husband and I kept things very low key. Long gone are the days of all night celebrations, in fact, I’m lucky if I make it to midnight. This year I did NOT – we went to a 630PM dinner at ‘Cesca on Manhattan’s sleepy Upper Westside, before renting Limitless and tucking in at a geriatric 10PM. Soooo lame….but sooo nice to wake up refreshed on New Year’s Day.
Since our dinner date was the big event, I was relieved that ‘Cesca didn’t disappoint. Everything we indulged in – from the antipasto to the lobster tagiolini – was well worth the splurge. I tend to enjoy appetizers more than the main event – a preference I no doubt picked up from mia madre – and I found myself particularly taken by the crostini. My husband and I shared a sample platter that included tuna tartare, figs & manchego and classic bruschetta, but my absolute favorite was a rustic roasted tomato spread that was sweet and full-bodied, a rich counterpart to the pale winter toms that line the grocery aisle.
I’ve been lacking in inspiration recently – a confluence of major life events has sapped my verve for cooking, but not my appetite for lazy-day fare – so I set my sights on recreating this simple yet divine dish at home. I succeeded…and then some. These make a fabulous passed appetizer or a nutritious addition to your Sunday dinner. I let my roasted tomato compote rest in the fridge for 24 hours before spreading it on crostini, but that isn’t necessary. It was nice to feel those old rumblings of cul-inspiration bubble up again, let’s just hope it sticks around.
PS: My mom just conjured up her own tomato-decked hors d’oeuvres, which led to my original craving, so be sure to check hers out. Sun-Dried Tomato Caprese with Smoked Mozzarella.
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Roasted Tomato and Garlic Crostini
Makes about 20 crostini
Ingredients:
3 medium beefsteak, jersey or vine-ripened tomatoes, quartered and seeded – $3.98
3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sugar – stock
¼ teaspoon salt – stock
Freshly ground black pepper – stock
2 Tablespoons olive oil – stock
1 Tablespoon Balsamic vinegar – stock
Sprinkle of dried thyme – stock
1 thin loaf of french bread or a thin baguette, sliced and toasted (you can also buy pre-made crostini at places like Whole Foods) $2.00
Grand total assuming well-stocked kitchen: $5.98
Cost per crostini: $0.30
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the seeded and quartered tomatoes in a glass casserole dish and toss with the garlic, salt, sugar, black pepper, balsamic and olive oil, coating evenly. Adjust the tomatoes so that they are all skin side down in the pan and cover with tinfoil.
3. Roast for 15 minutes covered, then uncover and roast an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the tomatoes are turning golden around the edges and have rendered their juices. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
4. Dust with a little bit of dried thyme then slice the tomatoes using a fork and sharp knife until you’ve created a thick, pulpy paste. You can store in the fridge for up to three days until you’re ready to serve or you can eat/assemble right away.
5. When you’re ready to eat, toast the baguette slices in your toaster oven, until golden brown.
6. Assemble the crostini by spreading a heaping teaspoon on each slice, or as desired.
I love crostinis and this version looks amazing!
Love this idea and plan on trying it the next time I’m in need of an appy recipe! Thanks Mariel!
I crave tomatoes. All the time. There’s hardly a day that goes by where I don’t eat them in some form or other. This little crostini is one of the most delightful ways to enjoy tomatoes, particularly in winter. When hot house tomatoes are all that’s available, roasting with garlic and thyme as you’ve done here is a fabulous way to heighten their flavors. I’d say this is just about the perfect little appetizer 🙂
Our friends all have little newborna (soon us) and this year they did an East Coast new years party. Since we are all in Seattle we celebrated midnight at 9pm 🙂 It was great. Love the crostinis.
Roasted anything is so much better. Love the photo.
These look wonderful! It sounds as though you had a wonderful New Year’s Eve – I never make it until midnight, either.
Your New Years Eve sounds about as exciting as ours! We didn’t even make it out to dinner. lol But you’re so right, the refreshed feeling the next morning makes it all worth it. These crostini’s look wonderful! Simple yet elegant. 🙂
There is everything to love about this!!
Another easy delicious appetizer – love it! I made crostini with fresh mozzarella and sun dried tomato inspired by your Sundried Tomato Caprese post and my kids devoured them!
These crostini sound just heavenly and would suffice as a main meal for me.
🙂 Mandy
Love this crostini! Perfect for parties too!
I love appetizers like this! Glad you replicated it. Hope you find lots of inspiration in 2012!
These sound amazing – I could eat tomatoes every single day. I hope your cooking mojo comes back soon. 🙂
So simple. So delicious. So perfect! I love this. What a way to get a dinner started off right!
Yummmmmmmm. That is all.
I’d gotten a cookbook as a wedding gift and there was one recipe in particular I couldn’t wait to try out. It was some kind of pasta dish starring sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese. What’s not to love about that?