Smoked tomato toast

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 6 toasts, you will need:

• 1 400 g cherry tomatoes
• 2 2 shallots
• 3 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 1 bayleaf
• 5 1 sprig thyme
• 6 1 garlic clove
• 7 1 tablespoon oil
• 8 200 g small pieces of smoked bacon
• 9 4 tablespoons vinegar
• 10 6 slices bread
• 11 50 g butter (optional)
• 12 200 g smoked cheese
• 13 salt
• 14 pepper
• Total weight: 1,300 grams

Times:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
30 min.	50 min.	1 hour 15 min.

Step by step recipe

1	Tomato compote Halve 400 g cherry tomatoes and season lightly with salt.
2	Prepare and chop 2 shallots.
3	In a frying pan over medium heat, pour in 4 tablespoons olive oil, and when hot add 1 bayleaf, 1 sprig thyme, 1 garlic clove and half the chopped shallots. Season with salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute without browning, stirring constantly.
4	Add the tomatoes and mix well...
5	...and simmer gently (cover if necessary). At the end of cooking, remove and discard the bay leaf, thyme and garlic, then check the seasoning.
6	Set the tomato compote aside in a bowl. You can strain it through a sieve (as in the photo) if you don't like the tomato skin, but it's not essential.
7	Smoked bacon Pour 1 tablespoon oil into a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add 200 g small pieces of smoked bacon...
8	...and grill to your liking.
9	At the end of the cooking time, add the remaining chopped shallots, season with pepper and a little salt. Cook the shallots in their own fat for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring regularly. Once the shallots are cooked, remove and discard any excess fat from the lardons.
10	Turn off the heat, pour in 4 tablespoons vinegar, then deglaze the bottom of the pan by scraping the bottom with a wooden spatula. Set aside.
11	The toasts Preheat your oven to 200°C (390°F). If you have a sweet tooth, butter the top and bottom of 6 slices bread, as shown in the photo, then place them on a sheet of baking paper on a baking sheet. Otherwise, simply place the bread slices as they are.
12	Garnish each tartine with a generous layer of tomato compote.
13	Add bacon.
14	Finish with the grated smoked cheese. Note: If you're using a soft cheese (smoked raclette cheese, for example), check out this little trick.
15	Bake for about 20 minutes, checking for color at the end.
16	Enjoy warm or hot.

Remarks

If you don't have any cherry tomatoes, and this is the season, replace them with classic tomatoes cut into large cubes or slices.
Tomato compote and grilled bacon can be prepared well in advance, even the day before.
For an extra touch of smokiness, add a teaspoon (or more) of smoked paprika at the end of cooking the tomato compote.

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