grasping at summer. October 21, 2010

It’s one of those days where the breeze is blowing and I can hear the soft crunch of leaves swirling around and smushing underfoot. They’re scattered on the ground..and when I look up…I see still-green leaves on trees and bright blue skies. An cloud comes by putting an overcast tinge on everything and yet it’s still in the upper 70′s. As someone who isn’t a huge fan of Southern summers – my summer seasonal disorder is well documented on this blog – I would normally be celebrating days like this. I’m certainly happy about the appearance of autumn produce and cooler temperatures but this year, for the first time since childhood, I had a really amazing summer. Work was fantastic, my friendship dance card was quite full, Sweden was an unexpected surprise, and I got to spend many wonderful days with my sweetheart. I also ate some of the best tomatoes of my life. Frankly, I’m feeling selfish and I don’t want those things to go away. I feel like on these in-between days, I’m grasping at summer.

While I missed the whole blogging about avocado toast thing, it sure did sound delicious. Avocado, as we all know from Latin cuisine, is a great foil for tomatoes & is just a natural pairing. In what seemed like a last ditch effort to enjoy super sweet summer tomatoes – and to continue my mild obsession with open-faced sandwiches and things on bread – I roasted some strawberry tomatoes on the vine and perched them atop a tartine of goat cheese and mashed, ripe avocado. It also gave me a chance to use some of the basil that is still bountifully growing on our patio. It’s apparently holding onto summer, too.

Roasted Tomato and Avocado Toast – serves 2 as a main-course sandwich

• 2 large slices good quality, hearty bread
  
• 2 small, very ripe avocados
• juice of 1 lemon
  
• 1 4-ounce portion of goat cheese, softened at room temperature
• 1 package strawberry tomatoes on the vine
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• kosher salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste – I used a sprinkle of heirloom tomato salt I bought in San Francisco
• fresh basil, rough torn for garnish (optional)

-For the tomatoes: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a shallow roasting pan, drizzle the tomatoes (still on the vine) with olive oil. When oven is heated, roast the tomatoes for 30-35 minutes until skin of fruit starts to pucker. Remove from oven and allow to cool to just above room temperature.

- To assemble: De-seed and scoop out the ripe avocado flesh and squeeze lemon juice over the flesh & mash to desired consistency with a fork. Set aside. Toast the bread slices in a dry pan until very toasted & crisp. Smear on about 2 ounces – half of the package – of goat cheese on one side of each piece of bread. On top of the goat cheese, spread half of the smashed avocado as a base for the tomato. Place a small cluster of between 5-7 tomatoes on top of the open-faced sandwich. Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper & garnish with herbs if desired. Serve (with a knife and fork) immediately.

All Images & Content Copyright © 2012 Tami Hardeman.