We all wait for what seems like a lifetime, and then tomatoes ripen at once.
Not that I'm complaining, but the clock does starts ticking the minute a tomato is picked. You have to use it immediately or it will go south quickly, and a wasted tomato seems like a crime against nature. So when I was staring down several pounds of the summer beauties, I decided a tomato gratin was on my menu.
When we think about gratins, what typically comes to mind is a baking dish of sliced potatoes, layered with cream and cheese, and topped with a crispy crust. But a gratin isn't defined by the vegetable, the cream or even the cheese. It's defined by the shallow dish it's cooked in (aptly named a gratin dish) and that crispy crust.
That leaves loads of room to turn almost anything into a gratin. This week I've decided to push the envelope on the classic side and make a hearty, deeply flavorful main dish version with tomatoes, toasted bread cubes, kalamata olives and eggs.
A good tomato is juicy, and while we want this gratin to be moist, we don't want it to be watery, so we sauté the tomatoes, along with a generous dose of garlic, to allow them to cook down a bit and release their juices. Browned bread cubes are added into the simmered tomatoes, to soak up all that good juice, and the mixture is poured into either one large gratin dish or 4 individual gratin dishes.
After the gratin bakes for a bit, eggs are cracked over the top and feta cheese and more bread cubes are scattered around the eggs before the dish is popped back in the oven and baked just long enough for the eggs to begin to set and a crusty top to form around them.
The gratin then sits, tented with foil, for a few minutes, which allows the eggs to finish cooking, without overcooking.
I garnish with a lavish showering of fresh basil and toasted pine nuts, giving the dish a luxurious taste and look. This is a fitting meal that highlights the best of summer's bounty.
