There is nothing, absolutely nothing like the flavor and texture of a fresh picked off-the-vine tomato. But most of us don’t get to plant tomatoes and even when we can grow them the season is limited. My wife and I can upon this idea for making grilled tomatoes and have been very happy with the results. The flavors intensify and the slight caramelizing of the natural sugars adds a zing you can’t find in store-bought ‘maters.
Fresh tomatoes from the local farmer's market
Rinse, slice lengthwise and place on a hot grill:
Tomatoes flat side down over high heat
The goal is a little charring to caramelize the sugars and proteins. Tomatoes are very juicy by nature, so they won’t char for quite a while. I believe it took me about 8 minutes get this much sear on the tomatoes on a Char-Broil Tru Infrared:
With a nice char
One tip, I would recommend using a steel spatula to remove them from the grill as tongs will mash them up since they will be pretty soft when it’s time to serve. Hit them with a little coarse salt and fresh cracked black pepper and then shave off some cheese over the top:
Cheese is falling like snow
Then garnish with flat leaf parsley, although basil would be a great alternative:
Plated with a little parsley
~ Scott
The Grillin’ Fools
