This is so delicious, I really think you will want to try this tonight soon. Ashley stopped by the other night after work for dinner and I tried out a new recipe I’ve been wanting to sample. It was really, really good. I served it with parmesan encrusted tilapia and boiled klondike potatoes. Afterwards, we may or may not have had a very small bowl of haagen dazs salted caramel truffle ice cream for dessert. I really could eat it all by itself for lunch or a snack. Not the ice cream, the tomato… well okay the ice cream too, but that’s not the point.
You can find the original recipe here, but as usual, I made a few tweaks. Here’s my version…
TOMATOES LAYERED WITH FETA AND BASIL
- 3 tomatoes from the vine
- 1/4 cup virgin olive oil
- 1/2 medium shallot
- 1/2 tsp of ground sea salt
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 1 Tbsp of balsamic dressing or a Tbsp of Ginger dressing with a dash of white wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp (or less) of fresh chopped basil or a teaspoon of ground basil
- 4-5 oz crumbled feta
- Tbsp milk
1. Cut off bottom of tomato and discard. Slice remainder of tomato including top into 4 equal slices and spread slices in a shallow dish with sides.
2. Place olive oil, shallot and basil into a blender and puree until shallot is in small pieces.
3. In small bowl mix the ground sea salt, sugar and balsamic or dressing/vinegar. Stir in the mixture from the blender.
4. Spread sauce over tomatoes to coat.
5. In another bowl with fork, mash together the feta and milk. Use hands to form balls and divide into 9 equal parts.
6. On plate lay a larger tomato slice, top with a flattened cheese ball, brush with sauce. Repeat process with two middle layers of tomato and then add the top.
7. Do this for next 2 tomatoes and then brush the tops of each with remaining sauce.
Serve immediately for best presentation. It still tastes yummy 24 hours later, but it will be a bit runny. Amy xo
Here’s some photo’s to help…
I used fresh parsley leaves. You don’t have to pre-chop it before going into blender, but I wasn’t sure how much chopped equaled a Tablespoon, so I did pre-chop it. I used a generous amount of basil, but make sure to add it according to your taste buds! It’s always better to start with less…
I confess, I had to google what a shallot was the first time I cooked with one. This is what they look like if you don’t know…
You could also buy them fresh – they look like giant chives. I couldn’t find the fresh ones.
Here is more about a shallot…
This is the dressing I used… truth-be-told, I tried it because I ran out of balsamic. It was really good… I loved the slight ginger taste…
Never be afraid to improvise. If I can do it, you can too. It’s empowering to start experimenting when cooking. Big deal, so it doesn’t work out…you don’t know until you try! xo
This is what the mashed feta looks like…
And here are the little feta balls…
And finally, here’s what it looks like as you’re layering…
I hope you try this, it’s yum. xo
Dish on Design Gal 