Brie and Blistered Tomato Toast
Zero effort lunch ftw
Seeing we’re coming into prime tomato season, I feel like this recipe couldn't come at a better time. I'm honestly astounded by how good this is. Simple ingredients, simple execution and yet - total perfection.
It's a real bougie kind of lunch - it's for a Sunday afternoon when you're feeling lazy but want something that'll be an absolute flavour explosion. It's the kind of meal that makes you forget that tomorrow is Monday. It doesn't require many ingredients, but in saying that, you really gotta use the freshest and best quality ingredients you can.
Get yourself a nice brie, some sweet juicy cherry tomatoes and basil leaves plucked from the plant right before serving. And most importantly, you gotta have some damn good bread to build your sandwich on top of. Use whatever you've got knocking around your kitchen (zero waste baby!), although I feel like this recipe is more suited to a fresh, crusty loaf rather than a sliced pan, if you get what I mean. Sourdough, a country loaf, a baguette, or a ciabatta roll would all work great here.
Recipe / serves 1
Ingredients
6 cherry tomatoes
1 tsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
2 slices of crusty bread
30g brie
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Fresh basil leaves
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat your pan to a high heat, preferably a cast iron, then add sunflower, avocado or rapeseed oil once hot. Preheat your broiler/grill to a medium heat.
Halve the cherry tomatoes, then add to the pan cut side down once the oil shimmers and is hot. Cook for about two minutes, then use the back of a fork to squish the tomatoes - they'll blister and cook faster this way.
Meanwhile, slice your bread and brie, and layer the cheese on top. Pop under the preheated grill until the brie has melted nicely.
Come back to your tomatoes and make sure to flip until both sides are showing black blister marks. Once they do, remove from the heat to avoid burning the tomatoes completely.
Assemble the toast by topping with the balsamic vinegar, the blistered tomatoes and the basil leaves. Sprinkle a little flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Devour, and enjoy it.
Notes
Blistering the tomatoes
You need to use a frying pan that can withstand a very high heat, like a cast iron pan in order to blister the tomatoes nicely.
Don't use olive oil to fry the tomatoes - it can't withstand high heat, which results in a burnt, acrid taste. Use sunflower, avocado or rapeseed oil instead.
Substitutions
If you're not a fan of the strong taste of brie, you could swap it out for a less intense buffalo mozzerella. It'll still have that gooey, stretchy melted goodness, and will work super well with all the other ingredients.
Storage
This isn't the type of sandwich that will keep - eat it as soon as you've made it!