Page 48 - Valley Table - Fall 2023

z BRING BACK BRUSCHETTA
Serves 2
If you’re like me, you may associate bruschetta with watery, flavorless versions passed around a party. What if we made bruschetta with only the plumpest, juiciest, sweetest summer tomatoes? Here we’re using Sungold tomatoes at
the peak of their late-summer ripeness, spooned over a tangy swoosh of cottage cheese. Fried garlic chips and basil top it off, and suddenly it’s the bruschetta we deserved all along.
PRODUCE
4 garlic cloves
3⁄4 pound Sungold or cherry
tomatoes
1 small bunch of basil and/or
chives
DAIRY
1⁄2 cup full-fat cottage cheese
PANTRY
Extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt
Any grape-based vinegar,
such as red, white, balsamic,
or sherry
Sugar
Red pepper flakes
2 (1-inch- thick) crusty, sturdy
bread slices
1. FRY THE GARLIC
• Thinly slice 3 garlic cloves.
• Line a plate with paper towels.
• In a large nonstick skillet, combine the sliced garlic with several glugs of olive oil—the garlic should be swimming in a shallow pool of it—and set it over medium heat. Cook, stirring to separate the slices, until just lightly golden brown (watch closely, they burn very easily), 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to the paper-towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon to drain. Season lightly with salt. Don’t discard the oil in the skillet! We’ll get into that shortly.
2. MARINATE THE TOMATOES
• Cut 3⁄4 pound Sungold tomatoes in half. Toss in a medium bowl with a splash of vinegar, a few big glugs of olive oil, a big pinch each of salt and sugar, and some red pepper flakes to taste. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
• Chop or tear 1 small bunch of basil and toss through the tomatoes.
3. FRY THE BREAD • Place 2 (1-inch- thick)
crusty bread slices in the garlic oil remaining in the skillet and set over medium heat. Cook until deeply golden brown and fried to a crisp on both sides, flipping once, about 6 minutes total.
• Transfer the toasts to a cutting board and rub all over with the remaining whole garlic clove—the craggy nature of the bread will act as
an abrasive to grate the garlic. Season with salt.
4. ASSEMBLE
• Cut each toast in half. Spoon some of the tomato juices over the toasts.
• Schmear a big spoonful of cottage cheese on each toast. Spoon the tomatoes over the top and garnish with the fried garlic and a drizzle of olive oil.
46 TheValleyTable | September—November2023
PHOTO BY PEDEN + MUNK
“More is More” Copyright © 2023 by Molly Baz. Photographs copyright © 2023 by PEDEN + MUNK. Illustrations Copyright © 2023 Claire McCracken. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House.”