If you need a quick and easy Meatless Monday meal, look no further! This Open-Face Caprese Sandwich is exactly what you need!
Some say your taste changes every seven years, and while there is no scientific evidence to base that on. I truly believe that you can make it change. You can learn to like new foods over time. Sometimes it’s just a matter of making something new sweeter or adding something you already enjoy, like cheese, to it. Psychological factors can also play a role. If your best friend really likes broccoli, you might be more inclined to try it and like it, too… There are quite a few foods I eat now, that I used to hate and one of those foods is raw tomatoes.
When I was little, the smell of tomatoes made me cringe! However, I used to steal cherry tomatoes from my mama’s garden and take them back to my makeshift kitchen in my old chicken house “clubhouse”. Simply handling them to include in my meal mud and water creations disgusted me. Looking back, I wonder why I would use them if I hated them so much… Strange little girl, huh?
As a teenager, I was introduced to fried green tomatoes and I loved every bite of them. I also began to eat tomato pudding and liked that too. I began to realize I liked every form of a cooked tomato EXCEPT raw tomatoes. As a southerner, it just didn’t seem right for me NOT to eat tomatoes. I mean, we grow tomatoes in our gardens and eat tomato sandwiches and boil corn on the cob for lunch all summer long.
I decided I was going to make myself learn to eat tomatoes. Little by little I started to find ways to eat raw tomatoes. First, I started leaving them on my cheeseburgers. Then I would eat them in salads (with dressing) and even began to eat diced tomatoes on my tacos. You know what? Today I can eat tomatoes. Now don’t get me wrong, I can’t bite into them like an apple, but not many can. Can you?
The past month has been spent doing spring cleaning chores around the house. It is taking a lot of time to get done. After David washed the deck and front porch, it was another 2 to 3 weeks before the weather would cooperate long enough to get the stain on (24 to 48 hours cure time). We also put up some lattice around the front porch. We should have done that when we created the flowerbeds. The leaf collection underneath was becoming quite the fire hazard, not to mention the stupid groundhog trying to make a home under there…
Needless to say, we’ve needed some quick easy meals. This open-face Caprese Sandwich is perfect for a quick summer meal, toasted bread with tomato slices, basil, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese.
How to make Open-Face Caprese Sandwiches
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place four slices of bread on a baking sheet. Slice the tomato into (4) ¼-inch slices and place one slice on each piece of bread. Top the tomato slice with a large basil leaf.
Add about 1 tablespoon (more is always better) of both mozzarella and parmesan to each basil/tomato topped bread slice.
Sprinkle with oregano.
Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake about 5 to 10 minutes until the bread is crisp. If the cheese has not browned, turn on the broiler to brown the cheese a little for extra flavor.
Once the cheese has browned (about 3 minutes), take out of the oven; salt and pepper to taste.
Serve immediately.
This open-face Caprese Sandwich is perfect for a quick summer Meatless Monday meal, and with all those ripe juicy summer tomatoes, I can’t resist them either!
Open-Face Caprese Sandwich
Ingredients
- 4 slices bread
- 1 tomato large, ripe, sliced into four ¼-inch slices
- 4 basil leaves large
- ¼ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
- oregano to taste
- salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place four slices of bread on a baking sheet. Slice the tomato into (4) ¼-inch slices and place one slice on each piece of bread. Top the tomato slice with a large basil leaf.
- Add about 1 tablespoon (more is always better) of both mozzarella and parmesan cheese to each basil/tomato topped bread slice. Sprinkle with oregano.
- Place the baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake about 5 to 10 minutes until the bread is crisp. If the cheese has not browned, turn on the broiler to brown the cheese a little for extra flavor.
- Once the cheese has browned (about 3 minutes), take out of the oven; sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Andy Oldham says
This looks Really good Debbie! 🙂
The Mountain Kitchen says
They’re really easy to make, Andy. Hope you’ll try them. It is as good as it looks! 🙂
David says
Beautiful and simple. Love the idea, Debbie!
I have also been trying to learn to love raw tomatoes. This might get me one step closer 🙂
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks. Surprisingly, just a few minutes in the oven will take away that raw taste… Give it a try when you can get some really pretty tomatoes, David!
Cheryl "Cheffie Cooks" Wiser says
Our tomatoes are about ready to pick! Woo Hoo. Love Caprese (hot or cold) and I also make a cold salad using watermelon in the place of tomatoes. It’s pretty yummy too. Have a great week!
The Mountain Kitchen says
I’m not a melon eater… BLEK! 🙁
Luckily, I was able to find this beautiful tomato at a local farmers’ market. I’m sure it is grown somewhere down south! Hope you have a great week too, Cheryl!
Jenny says
These sandwiches look really tasty and easy to make! Your deck looks very nice too! 🙂
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks, Jenny. We have been able to enjoy a couple of meals out there this past week. I’ve really missed that! Wish I had a tomato pretty enough, I’d make another one of these tonight!
Dana @ IveGotCake says
Quick, easy and VERY delicious.
I don’t often bite into tomatoes but when I’m really hungry (aka doing a food photoshoot before eating), I’ll pop a couple grape tomatoes in my mouth because they’re not as ‘liquidy’ as regular sized ones and they have a delicate sweetness about them.
The Mountain Kitchen says
I can’t do it! Maybe dipped in something…
Julie is HostessAtHeart says
Those tomatoes are beautiful and this sandwich looks delicious. Keeping wook beautiful is so much work! Your place looks beautiful.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Julie – these tomatoes came from a local farmers’ market. They had to have come from somewhere down south. Such beauties for this time of year!
You are right, wood is a lot of work to keep beautified. Anything wouldn’t have looked as good in our location! 🙂