These roasted tomato pita breads make a wonderful end of summer snack.
So it’s September. And by the looks of my facebook newsfeed, twitter and about 75% of the blogs I follow, you’d think the temperature dropped 50 degrees overnight, we’re all cozied up in sweaters and hot chocolate and the holidays are right around the corner because THERE IS PUMPKIN EVERY FREAKIN’ WHERE I LOOK. Yes, I’m deeming this a caps lock necessary kind of situation.
This is not ok. 24 hours pass, we go from August to September and bam, people are thinking it’s acceptable for the pumpkin takeover. I blame Starbucks and I blame all you for falling for it. Just because the pumpkin spice latte is back doesn’t mean we need to throw summer out the window. Newsflash, fall doesn’t technically start for another 19 days and it’s still 80 something degrees outside.
Also, I have zucchini, corn and tomatoes coming at me from every which direction right now as gardens are exploding and stores are practically giving them away. We wait all growing season in the northeast for this delicious local produce and you want to just forget it all in the name of pumpkin?! Not.going.down.like.that. At least not over here.
My cans of pumpkin will be staying put in the bottom corner of the pantry where they’ve been for the past 8 or so months since I last used them until we’ve exhausted all the possibilities with end of summer veggies. Starting with this ridiculously easy snack.
Fresh garden tomatoes are pretty much amazing as is (and I could easily eat them like a peach with a sprinkle of salt all day long) but when you roast them, they go from regular amazing to that “omg, eyeballs roll backwards” kind of amazing and become almost candy-like. Slather them on grilled pita bread with some olive oil, balsamic, roasted garlic & basil and you have the epitome of summer in snack form. Pumpkin can’t even compete.
And since we’re still celebrating summer over here, this little fella was how we kicked off our long Labor Day weekend last Friday.
The lobsters were from Get Maine Lobster and were shipped overnight to my door in an insulated box with seaweed and wet towels to keep them nice and fresh. They have everything from a simple lobster dinner for two to entire seafood dinners and everything in between including some great Labor Day specials right now.
I love everything about lobster minus the killing it part so that’s where the friends came in. It was a dinner party with a stipulation: delicious food, you just have to cook it. Luckily, Brandy’s husband was game and took one for the team as our designated lobstah killer. I photographed and then quickly looked the other way while they went from live animal to dinner on my stove-top. It was a delicious mess of a dinner that we dunked in compound herb butters as we cracked open shells and ate with sweet corn on the cob, tomato salad cheddar cups and freshly baked bread.
Local peach pie was for dessert and the thought of pumpkin didn’t cross my mind once.
Cheers to a few more weeks of summer!
Roasted Tomato Pita Bread
Ingredients
- 2 pita breads
- 4 tomatoes, quartered (if they're bigger, cut into 6 pieces)
- 3 cloves of garlic, left whole, skin still on
- salt & pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- handful of fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Toss tomatoes with the garlic cloves, olive oil, salt & pepper and basil in a large bowl.
- Spread the tomato mixture onto a baking sheet and roast for about 45 minutes.
- While tomatoes are roasting, grill the pita bread on an outdoor grill or stovetop grill pan for a few minutes per side to get some nice grill marks on it. Cut the pitas into triangles. Set aside.
- Remove the tomatoes from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.
- Squeeze the garlic out of the skin and spread it onto the pita slices.
- Spoon 1-2 tomato pieces onto each pita and drizzle with some balsamic vinegar.
- Garnish with more fresh basil and enjoy the taste of late summer in your mouth.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
*Get Maine Lobster provided me with free lobster and compensated me for this review. Opinions, content & photography are mine.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Amen! I feel like I am fighting a losing battle over here with my husband and friends. #longlivesummer
Lobster is always such a treat.
completely, 100% agree. september = apples, OCTOBER = pumpkins. By the time I roll out my pumpkin recipes, everyone will already be sick of them. Tough. I will not falter! It’s ridiculous that it keeps getting pushed up every year.
What a fun feast. I love lobster but I always make them boil them for me at the store.
Totally agree with you! No gingerbread and pumpkin yet for me either!
Great recipes!