French Bread with Roasted Tomatoes and Cheese

 Last Year's Post: Spinach Puff Pastry Tarts
Two Years Ago:    Leek, Bacon and Gruyere Tart

I was thinking this week that breakfast doesn't have to be the same old boring thing.  In Europe, breakfast often involves bread and cheese similar to American breakfasts, but served in different ways.  I wanted to serve some French bread with cheese and roasted tomatoes, and I was inspired to use the idea as an excuse to try a new cheese.  I looked up a list of soft cheeses online and headed to my cheese shop, where I found a cow's milk cheese from southwest France called Chaumes.  The online list of cheeses said it was one of the most popular French cheeses so I decided to give it a try.  It's mild and buttery and tastes a lot like Brie.  As for the tomatoes, I found some nice dark ones at the store but decided to roast them anyway - unless you have perfect peak-of-summer tomatoes, roasting almost always helps intensify their flavor.

One of my friends recently told me she was looking for some 20 minute recipes.  If you count roasting the tomatoes this will take more like 30 minutes, but if you roast them in advance it's about 5 minutes to prep.  And it's so simple that it's basically a non-recipe:  roast some tomatoes and put them on a baguette with some nice soft cheese.  Add a little butter to the bread first if you want, and add some herbs to the tomatoes, and you have a really fast and simple breakfast, lunch or light dinner.  And a great excuse to try a new cheese.

print

French Bread with Roasted Tomatoes and Cheese

Serves 2

4 small-ish tomatoes

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

French or Italian dried herb blend (optional but very good)

1 baguette

Butter

Interesting soft cheese (Brie or similar, I used Chaumes)

Chopped parsley, for garnish

To roast the tomatoes:  Preheat the oven to 400d.  Cut each tomato crosswise into slices.  Place on a baking pan and brush with a little olive oil, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried herbs.  Roast in the oven for 20 minutes until softened but not collapsed.  Remove and cool.

Cut the baguette crosswise into two pieces, and then cut each piece lengthwise in half.  Spread with a little butter and microwave for a few seconds to warm the bread and melt the butter.  Distribute cheese and tomato slices among the bread pieces and warm for a few more seconds in the microwave if desired.  Sprinkle with parsley and serve.