Make Ahead

Tomato-Feta Bake

by:
August 12, 2013
4
4 Ratings
  • Serves 4 as an appetizer or side dish
Author Notes

I'm a tomato hoarder.

I don't mean to be, but every summer when I go to the farmer's market, I have this knack for forgetting that I already have tomatoes at home, and then after a week or so, I find myself staring down a mountain of at-their-peak tomatoes. And while I can shovel down fresh tomatoes one after the other with hardly a breath in between, there comes a point where I just have too many, and I have to *do* something with them.

This dish is one of my favorite ways to cook up tomatoes. It's assembled in about 30 seconds; the oven does the rest. I love the floral quality of oregano here, but you can use thyme or rosemary or whatever other herbs you'd like. Use your favorite feta; I prefer sheep's milk, which is nice and tangy, but I've used cow feta as well. In any case, the cheese should be salty enough for you not to need additional salt.

When the dish is ready, I dig into it using crusty pieces of bread to scoop up pieces of cheese and tomato, using the soft insides to sop up the juice. I say that this dish can feed 4 as an appetizer, but I can clear most of it by myself. It must be the hoarder in me. —vvvanessa

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2-3 cups cherry tomatoes, stemmed, washed, and dried
  • 8 ounces block feta cheese cut into 2 playing-card-sized slabs
  • 8-10 sprigs fresh oregano
  • black pepper
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
  • baguettes or other sturdy, crusty bread
Directions
  1. Heat oven to 400ºF.
  2. Pour the tomatoes into an 8"x8" baking dish. Lay half the oregano sprigs on top of the tomatoes. Lay the slabs of feta on top of the oregano, then top with the rest of the oregano. Add a dusting of freshly ground black pepper, then drizzle the olive oil over the whole dish.
  3. Bake until the feta turns golden and the tomatoes soften and give off their juice, about 30-40 minutes.
  4. Remove from the oven and serve hot with lots of bread and extra olive oil if you like.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Tanya
    Tanya
  • AntoniaJames
    AntoniaJames
  • hardlikearmour
    hardlikearmour
  • vvvanessa
    vvvanessa

6 Reviews

Tanya October 22, 2013
I can almost taste how good this is. Sadly the tomatoes where I live are not inspiring at the moment (wish I had seen this when you first posted it!). I'll have to wait till it's back in season.
 
vvvanessa October 29, 2013
Thanks! I hope winter and spring go by fast for you!
 
AntoniaJames August 30, 2013
Oh that looks fantastic! And what a great photo, too. I'm making this for my son when he comes for a visit next week. Just love it. ;o) P.S. What kind of fresh oregano did you use? I have Greek as well as Italian (much milder) growing on the landing below my kitchen window. Thank you.
 
vvvanessa August 30, 2013
Thanks! I might lean toward the bolder Greek oregano, but when it comes time to make the dish, I would probably sniff both varieties to see what calls to me. I hope you enjoy the dish and have a good visit with your son!
 
hardlikearmour August 12, 2013
Holy yum, Batman! This sounds amazing & your photo is mouth-wateringly gorgeous.
 
vvvanessa August 13, 2013
Thanks! I promptly ate half of it right after I took the photo.