Flat Bread with Grape Tomatoes

I’ve been growing a grape tomato plant since Memorial Day weekend and it’s about ready to be harvested. And, with the recent “tomato scare,” let’s just say I see a lot of home-grown grape tomatoes in my dietary future. So I’ve been thinking, what can I do with all these grape tomatoes besides throwing ‘em on a salad? Here is one idea I tried recently that was freakin’ scrumptious

• Focaccia Bread with Grape Tomatoes:This is an easy way to make focaccia (basically flat bread) at home. Ingredients: 1 store bought pizza dough; 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped; 1-2 shallots, thinly sliced; 1-2 sprigs worth of fresh rosemary leaves; a big handful of grape tomatoes; good olive oil; and salt/black pepper. Instructions:Get a rolling pin and some flour on your surface and roll out the pizza dough into a rectangle (about 12×16 inches), about a 1/4 inch thick. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper so it doesn’t stick. Press the tips of your fingers into the dough, creating dimples all over it. Drizzle olive oil all over the dough and use a brush to make sure the whole thing has a good coating (you know you have enough when the olive oil pools in the dimples - yum!). Now sprinkle the chopped garlic, sliced shallots, and rosemary on the dough. Then take your grape tomatoes and press them into the dough so they stay in place. Sprinkle a pinch of black pepper on there, and bake it @ 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

I made this last weekend and it was really good (pictured below). Instead of using salt, I grated some parmesean reggiano cheese on top – it has just the right amount of saltiness – while it was still piping hot out of the oven. Otherwise, top it with some coarse salt (Kosher or Sea Salt) to taste.

Focaccia with Grape Tomatoes