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Dried tomatoes with yellow peppers, basil and mozzarella recipe

Dried Tomatoes with Yellow Peppers, Basil and Mozzarella

Course Appetizer
Cuisine French

Ingredients
  

  • 18 (or two pounds) Roma Tomatoes
  • 2 Yellow Sweet Peppers
  • 8 oz 1 Package of Soft Mozzarella
  • 12 Fresh Basil Leaves
  • Balsamic Glaze
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Wash the tomatoes (get rid of any stem first), dry them, cut them in half and scrape out with your index finger the juice and seeds which are inside.
    Dried tomatoes with yellow peppers, basil and mozzarella
  • Place the halves face down on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with olive oil.
    Dried tomatoes with yellow peppers, basil and mozzarella
  • Bake at 250 for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the skin is wrinkled.
    Dried tomatoes
  • When ready, remove from the oven, let cool 10 minutes on top of the counter and pluck the skin off the tomatoes. It will come out easily: Lift one side with a sharp knife and pull up.
    Dried tomatoes
  • Set up the oven at 375. Brush the two yellow peppers with olive oil. Set on a tray lined with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes or until wrinkled and charred black in several places.
    Dried tomatoes with yellow peppers, basil and mozzarella
  • Take the peppers out of the oven, wrap in a towel for 1/2 hour then peel the skin, open the peppers, scrape the seeds out and cut in four or five sections. Throw out any juice left after roasting.
  • Wash the basil leaves, dry them with paper towels and cut them in half along the central vein, taking the vein out if too thick.
    Dried tomatoes with yellow peppers, basil and mozzarella
  • On a very flat and long server, alternate rows of basil leaves, tomatoes, mozzarella and yellow peppers. With a rubber spatula, scrape the tomato juice left on the baking tray and pour it over the assembled dish: It will blend with the olive oil and the glaze and make a delightful sauce which your family/friends will be all too happy to soak with their slices of crispy baguette when everything has been eaten and what is left is the fragrant dark thick liquid at the bottom of the server.
  • Dribble olive oil all over, and crisscross a pattern of balsamic glaze on top. Sprinkle salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
    Dried tomatoes with yellow peppers, basil and mozzarella recipe
  • Accompany this appetizer with slices of crispy baguettes (bake the baguette for 1/2 hour to 35 minutes, or until crisp on the outside and still soft inside, in a 350 oven, let it cool, then slice).

Notes

Although the tomatoes and peppers can be roasted several days in advance and will keep well in the refrigerator, this is not true for the basil leaves which, once cut, will darken quickly. This dish should therefore be assembled a few hours before being served.
Keyword Basil, French Recipe, Mozzarella, Tomatoes, Yellow Peppers