It’s that time of year everyone. That time we yearn for in February when the only thing in season is another damned root vegetable. That time of year when my mother knows to find my dad having a snack out in his tomato patch. Hooray for that time of year!
On Wednesday evening Phil and I went to the Petaluma Farmer’s Market and I loaded up on the most gorgeous plump Early Girl tomatoes. The tomato guy gave me a wink and sent us off to continue our shopping with an extra tomato he slipped in my bag when his wife wasn’t looking. Of course the plout lady didn’t really like that and proceeded to accuse him of selling me hothouse tomatoes and tried to convince me to buy from her next time. I said thanks, but I’ve never seen dirt like this on a hothouse tomato before. I think she was just jealous since her supply was pretty meager. I love the Petaluma Farmer’s Market, but a few of the vendors are a little too cutthroat for my taste. Did I ever tell you about the vinegar lady? A story for another time.
I digress.
If I had my way tomato season would be smack in the middle of January. I’ve come up with a lot of wonderful ideas for tomatoes over the years, but they all seem like they should be eaten while wrapped in a heavy grandpa sweater and striped socks and so I usually never get to the idea. As it would happen here in Northern California we are having one of the coldest winters summers in forty years, or so I hear and so I thought it was time to give this one a whirl.
This is sort of an interesting gratin. It does not contain and béchamel, but is simply dressed with a lightly sweetened Dijon mustard mixture and a bit of gruyere. The tomatoes are cooked down considerably, before topping with the cheesy bread crumbs. I find that tomatoes, even ones that have been seeded and squeezed, take a considerable amount of time to cook and concentrate and the bread crumbs just won’t stand up to a long turn in the oven. Whatever type of tomato you choose, I recommend using the ripest ones you can possibly find. Their sweetness will be perfection in this wonderful edible homage to summer. Enjoy!
6-8 Tomatoes (I recommend Early Girl, Zapotec Pleated or Brandywine), excess juice squeezed out and sliced thickly
2 TBS Dijon Mustard ( something really creamy like Maille)
2 TBS Dry White Wine
1 TBS Brown Sugar
Sea Salt
1 cup Gruyere, cut into smaller pieces
1/2 cup Parmesan cut into smaller pieces
2 Bread Slices, torn into smaller pieces
1 tsp Thyme Leaves
Pepper
Preheat the oven to 375F.
In a little dish stir together the mustard, wine, and brown sugar. Begin to layer the tomatoes in a 9 inch baking dish seasoning each layer with sea salt, brushing it with the mustard mixture and sprinkling half of the gruyere between the layers. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.
Combine the gruyere, parmesan, bread, thyme and pepper in a food processor and pulse until they ae relatively fine.
After 30 minutes when the tomatoes have become nice and soft, remove the dish from the oven and top with the cheese and bread crumb mixture. Bake for another 20 minutes or until nice and brown.
YUM!
I agree, why is it that we crave these things and have the best inspiration for new dishes in midwinter???
There are some lovely ripe tomatoes in my fruit dish right now, so I know what we are having with dinner. Thanks for the idea!
Debbie, We always want what we can’t have, I guess. How funny that it is tomatoes that we are dreaming of!
I hope you like my little gratin.
Tomato season is a beautiful time of year. Thank goodness. We need a little beauty in the midst of all of this San Francisco gloomy grey.
Well, it was fabulous!
Did tweak it a bit though… sorry.
Added basil and some crushed garlic (only a tiny amount so it was a hint – not a flavour) and parsley. I have a thing for parsley. It seems to make an appearance on/in everything I make.
I am going to try this down south at my friends house. We eat alot of grilled foods, so think I could slice the tomatoes in half and top each one with the gratin before placing on the bbq. Then a drizzle of olive oil and fresh basil along with whatever meat/fish we have grilled on the bbq…. and a bottle of the local cotes de provence of course.
Denise, I think I may be the only person in Northern California enjoying this gloomy summer! What can I say, I’m an oddity.
Debbie, Never apologize for that! I want people to make my recipes their own, cooking is so much more fun when you can use your own imagination.
Have a wonderful time in Provence!
I so much love a classic tomato gratin like this one!! It is a classic in Belgium! Ooh yes, we do like our good food!
The gratin looks quite pretty & fabulously tasty!
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM,…!!!!!
Er… seeded and squeezed?!! You’ll have the Society for the Protection of Tomatoes round if you do things like that!!
Can’t they just go in sliced with skewered holes in the top so the excess fluid evaporates? This does sound truly scrumptious. I love cherry toms myself, that burst of flavour is fabulous.
Sophie, Tomato gratins in general or the entire thing? Thank you for visiting The Endive Chronicles!!
Griffin, Not that! And after I finally appeased the Village Green Preservation Society.
Sadly there is a massive amount of juice that needs to evaporate and you’d be siphoning it out with a turkey baster.
I do too, in fact I never met a tomato I didn’t like.
You’ve got me itching to riff again. I foresee smoked tomato gratin, as soon as I get the smoker hooked up again.
This looks like it would be absolutely perfect with some meat/fish on the grill. Yum!
Rowdy Chowgirl, I agree! Actually, if you had some cast iron (not the enameled kind) you could probably do this on the grill as well.