BBQ Grilled Tomato Steaks
Tuesday, 12 June 2007 18:18
These are extremely easy to make.
They have a robust flavor - not at all your wimpy, just lie-there-on-the-plate, kind of tomatoes. I’ve found these to go well with lamb, beef, and strong fish (like salmon.)
I have found momotaro tomatoes to be by far the best variety for this. The momotaro is a solid tomato that has good flavor, can be carved into thick "steaks", and stands up to marinating and grilling. I usually use the largest ones I can find.
I find that one tomato "steak" per person is about right.
Recently I’ve been adding a layer of shredded parmasean cheese so that it melts to form a cap when grilling. When I do this I don’t flip the tomotoes when they are on the BBQ.
Ingredients
- Large momotaro tomatoes - You want them large enough to carve into slices each about 3/4" (16mm) thick after allowance for trimming off a bit of the ends.
- 1 cup Balsamic vinegar
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large garlic cloves
- Several grinds of fresh ground black pepper
- Fresh basil (one leaf per "steak")
- Fresh mozzarella
Directions:
- Create a marinade by mixing the vinegar and olive oil. Press the garlic into the mixture and add the pepper. Mix well.
- Trim a small bit off the ends of the tomatoes to expose the flesh and remove the woody part at the stem.
- Cut the tomatoes into 1/2" (12mm) to 3/4" (16mm) thick slices.
- In a shallow baking dish cover the tomato slices with the marinade. Make sure the slices are wetted by the marinade on both the top and bottom.
- Cover and let stand for at least two hours. Every half hour spoon some of the marinade onto the tops of the slices and slightly lift the slices to let the marinade get underneath.
- Heat BBQ grill to medium-high and put a bit of oil onto the grill (be careful of flame-ups).
- Cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side. Be very careful when flipping and removing the slices - they become somewhat soft and sometimes tend to stick. 8 Serve warm, with a fresh basil leaf and a slice of fresh mozzarella on top.