Fresh Tomato Gratin

If you're looking for some good tomato recipes and you're lucky enough to have a bounty of them in your garden, give this Tomato Gratin recipe a try.

Instead of topping fresh tomatoes with bread cubes or bread crumbs, crispy cubes of bread are tossed with a mixture of heavy cream, Romano cheese, garlic, red wine vinegar, fresh basil, salt and pepper to form the base for rows of colorful tomatoes.

Preparing the bread

I bought a large loaf of Italian bread and used Cutco's 9-3/4" Slicer with its long blade and sharp edge to easily cut the bread into cubes. Keep a close eye on the bread cubes when browning. They can go from golden brown to burnt very quickly. Try to spread the bread evenly in the baking dish to form a nice base for layering the tomatoes.

Preparing the tomatoes

To easily slice the tomatoes, a sharp utility knife, like the Trimmer, works well. Its Double-D® recessed edge slices through them without squishing them. You can also try using Cutco's Traditional Cheese Knife, which many customers say works like a dream when slicing tomatoes. Alternate the colors in the rows of tomatoes to create an eye appealing presentation.

As the gratin bakes, the bread soaks up the juicy goodness from the tomatoes. By the way, I had some help in the kitchen from my oldest son, Mark, who was visiting from Denver. I think he was just hanging around until the dish was done so he could eat it.

It smelled wonderful as it baked and I couldn't wait to cut it. The sweetness of the tomatoes and saltiness of the cheese combined with the seasoned bread cubes is so good.

This one got rave reviews from my son and everyone else who tried it.