Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta with Labneh

Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

Coming right from my cookbook, The Weeknight Mediterranean Kitchen, is one of my favorite tomato recipes from the book, heirloom tomato bruschetta

This is an easy recipe, made in nearly 10 minutes with a bit of a Middle Eastern twist compared to it's Italian version.

Colorful heirloom tomatoes are chopped and tossed with olive oil, balsamic and fresh mint.

Toasted crostini is spread with a generous layer of tangy labneh cheese and then topped with the fresh tomato mixture.

The combination of juicy tomatoes, fruity olive oil and tangy labneh cheese is out of this world!

Labneh Cheese

Labneh cheese is a strained yogurt cheese that is very popular in Mediterranean cuisine. It is one of my favorite ingredients and I use it in both sweet and savory recipes, such as beet chips with labneh and charred peaches with honey labneh.

Labneh is incredibly creamy, thick and slightly tangy.

Labneh is harder to find in traditional grocery stores and most often found in specialty Mediterranean stores.

Ingredients

• Heirloom Tomatoes: Use a variety of colors and chop tomatoes into ¼ inch dice.
• Olive Oil: A nice fruity or peppery olive oil works well since this is an uncooked dish, we want the olive oil to shine!
• Aged Balsamic: A thicker and sweeter balsamic works well with the heirloom tomatoes. If you have a more sharp and acidic balsamic, add a teaspoon of honey to counter the sharpness.
• Fresh Mint: Both used in the bruschetta and a few leaves for garnish.
• Aleppo Pepper: A bit softer than traditional Italian red pepper flakes.
• Labneh Cheese: The creamy labneh cheese paired with the fresh tomatoes works so well. If you can't find labneh cheese, a thick Greek yogurt would work.
• Crostini: Cut 1-inch slices from a baguette and toast until dried and lightly golden.

More Heirloom Tomato Recipes

• Heirloom Tomato Galette with Pesto
• Heirloom Tomato Focaccia
• Burrata Caprese
• Peach Caprese Tart