One of the best ways to tell that summer is here (other than the heat) is all the fresh garden produce that is available. I’m so happy to see fresh cucumber, zucchini, beans, figs, and my all time favourite: tomatoes!
You can’t beat sweet, juicy and incredibly flavourful, summer tomatoes! Whether they are red tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green tomatoes, or fancy heirloom tomatoes, you have to gorge yourself on them while they are in season! Plus, since they are so easy to grow and have a high crop yield, they end up being dirt cheap at the grocery stores during the summer! I’m all for that!
Tomatoes are an incredibly versatile fruit and can be prepared in many ways. You can simply eat them fresh with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper, make them into tomato sauce to serve with pasta, or even dry them out to make sundried tomatoes. The possibilities are literally endless with tomatoes! But no matter which way you prepare them, they will always pair perfectly with gorgeous olive oil and fresh herbs!
The Best Summer Flavours
My favourite way to eat tomatoes (other than with olive oil, salt, pepper…. and a side of fresh mozzarella) is with focaccia bread. And this is how I developed this delicious Summer Tomato & Rosemary Focaccia recipe. I cannot get over how delicious and beautiful this recipe is!
I thinly slice red and yellow tomatoes and arrange them in a alternating pattern on top of fresh, homemade, rosemary focaccia bread. This focaccia bread recipe is actually based off of my Homemade Pizza Dough recipe, just with the addition of extra olive oil and fresh chopped rosemary! I then top it off with large Maldon sea salt flakes, a sprinkle of fresh rosemary, and of course, more olive oil! Because focaccia bread isn’t focaccia bread without tons of olive oil!
Rosemary is Not Just for Winter!
While many people may not think that rosemary is a traditional summer herb, it is incredibly delicious when picked fresh and has a fulsome herby taste. I particularly like it paired with tomatoes as well since it brings out the sweetness in the tomatoes even more. They’re even best friends in my garden since they grow right next to each other! I have a huge rosemary bush in my garden as well, so stay tuned for lots of fun and delicious rosemary recipes!
Let me know your favourite way to eat tomatoes in the comments below! Get the full recipe for my Summer Tomato & Rosemary Focaccia down below!
Get the Recipe!
Summer Tomato & Rosemary Focaccia
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 cup olive oil plus more for oiling bowls and pans
- 3 tablespoons fresh copped rosemary plus extra for garnish
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 - 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 large yellow tomatoes
- 2 large red tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Maldon sea salt
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the water, yeast and sugar. Let stand until the mixture foams on top (this is the yeast blooming), about 10 minutes.
- Add the flour, salt, chopped rosemary, and 1/4 cup of olive oil to the yeast mixture. Using your hands, mix the dough until it comes together. It should be soft and sticky, but not so much that it sticks all over your fingers.
- Knead the dough in the bowl for 2-3 minutes until most of the flour is combined.
- Transfer the dough into a large mixing bowl that has been oiled all over with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Press the dough out onto an oiled baking sheet until it is about 1 centimeter thick. Cover the pans with a damp cloth and let the dough sit for 30 minutes to let the dough rise.
- Next, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Once the dough has risen, use your fingertips to press down the dough so that you create little "wells" all over the pizza dough. Brush the top of the dough with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Bake the focaccia for 15 minutes, then remove it from the oven and top it with the fresh tomatoes. Place it back in the oven and let it bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the bottom crust is golden brown.
- Once the focaccia has baked, remove it from the oven and drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with more fresh chopped rosemary and Maldon sea salt.
- Slice into squares and enjoy!
