Tomato and Basil Summer Pie

BY RICHARD CORNISH

The perfect way to make the use of the late summer, early autumn bounty of ripe tomatoes. A time when the days are still warm and the nights long, when BBQs are firing up and there are chops and steaks on the grill. Use the best basic ingredients to make this superb summer pie to serve with food fresh from the grill washed down with an aromatic red wine. We love using tomatoes and herbs from Mt Franklin Organics and sourdough from Irrewarra Bakery.

Ingredients

½ Irrewarra Sourdough loaf
60 ml extra virgin olive oil
15 ml red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Small handful basil, coarsely chopped
750 g very ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
12 cherry tomatoes, halved, for decoration
100g grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan. Rip the bread into pieces about the size of an orange segment. Place them in a large bowl with the oil, vinegar, garlic, basil, chopped ripe tomatoes and half the parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Massage gently to work the juice into the bread but not breaking it apart too much. Lay out in a baking tray and arrange the halved cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle over with the rest of the parmesan cheese and a little more extra virgin olive oil.

Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until the top layer of bread looks slightly golden.