Have you ever had one of those meals that was so good that you could eat it for breakfast, lunch dinner and all points in between? Well, wait till you taste Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes over Herbed Grits Toast with Pesto Drizzle!

Sweet heirloom tomatoes and fresh pesto all over golden, herb-spiked grits toast!

Total yum!

This dish is like having a garden party for your tastebuds!

During our recent family beach trip, somehow I was tasked with being the designated vacation cook. Actually, I don’t mind…its better than washing dishes any day!

Now, just because we were on vacation didn’t mean that we were taking a vacation from good eating! And, if you’re like me, spending a bucketful of hard-earned money at some hoity-toity overpriced restaurant is not my idea of vacation fun.

You can make restaurant worthy meals yourself. It’s all about planning and taking advantage of fresh, seasonal garden goodness.

A bumper crop of beautiful heirloom tomatoes in my garden was the inspiration for this dish. Tossed with a bit of olive oil, a few sprigs of fresh herbs and simply roasted to perfection.

The enticing aroma of the tomatoes roasting will set your tastebuds on high alert!

Now, you could eat the roasted tomatoes all by themselves. And, yes, I confess that more than a few of these babies went this route. But, I wanted to make something special for my family. Enter, herbed grits toast.

If you’re not a grits fan, then use polenta. I won’t judge you..much!

Making the grits toast was super simple but it did require a bit of advance planning. You’ll want to cook your grits a few hours in advance so they’ll have time to chill. Perfect for slicing and toasting to golden perfection.

Stuffed with garden fresh herbs and tangy vegan cheese, these grits are the bomb!

Once your grits are toasted, pile on those beautifully roasted tomatoes. Top with a generous helping of freshly made basil pesto. Sprinkle with a bit of grated vegan cheese.

Now that there’s some good eating!

Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes over Herbed Grits Toast with Pesto Drizzle (Vegan)

Author: Benita Walker Gibbs

Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes over Herbed Grits Toast with Pesto Drizzle (Vegan): Bright! Delicious! Good morning goodness!

Ingredients

For Roasted Tomatoes:

4 cups fresh cherry tomatoes or roughly chopped tomatoes of your choice
2 – 4 sprigs of thyme (or other fresh herbs of your choice)
1 T. Olive Oil

For The Herbed Grits Toast

4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup coarse, stone-ground grits
2 Tablespoons Vegan Butter
1 cup plant-based milk of your choice
1/2 cup Vegan Cream Cheese (I used Tofutti’s “Better Than Cream Cheese”)
1/2 cup Vegan Mozzarella (I used Daiya)
1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (I used chives, oregano, basil, thyme and tarragon because that’s what I had in my garden. You can use whatever you have on hand.

For the Simply Vegan Pesto

2 cups tightly-packed fresh basil
1/2 cup pinenuts
3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 -2 T Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
Salt and Pepper, to Taste

Cooking Instructions

For Herbed Grits

Bring water, salt, and 1 tablespoon vegan butter to a boil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, then add grits gradually, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat and cook at a slight simmer, covered, stirring frequently, until water is absorbed and grits are thickened, about 15 minutes.
Stir in 1/2 cup plant-based milk and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally to keep grits from sticking to bottom of pan, 10 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup plant-based milk and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed and grits are thick and tender, about 35 minutes more.
Stir in pepper, vegan cheese and remaining tablespoon of vegan butter
Taste for seasoning and adjust as desired
Remove from heat and carefully spread grits onto a parchment lined baking sheet. I’ve found that the disposable one’s from the Dollar Tree are perfect for this.
Chill grits for 2 hours – overnight until cold and solid
Cut grits into approximately 2 1/2″ x 4″ rectangles
Preheat a medium frying pan over medium heat. Very lightly oil pan with olive oil and toast grits toast for 4-5 minutes per side until golden brown.
Set aside until ready to serve.

For Basil Pesto

Place basil, pinenuts and garlic in the base of a food processor or blender; Pulse until coarsely ground;
Turn on motor and drizzle the olive oil into the basil mixture until well incorporated. Make sure your drizzle of oil is a very thin, steady, stream.
Add nutritional yeast and lemon juice, pulsing until combined;
Add salt and pepper (to taste), pulse until combined;
Refrigerate pesto until ready to use;

For Roasted Tomatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (you may need two baking sheets)
Gently toss tomatoes, oil and herbs until well-combined
Spread tomatoes onto baking sheet(s) in a single layer and roast for 15-20 minutes until fragrant, crinkly and starting to burst
Remove from oven and set aside until ready to use;

Putting it All Together:

Arrange 2-3 pieces of grits toast on a plate
Top grits toast with about 1/2 cup of roasted tomatoes
Spoon about 1/4 cup of pesto over tomatoes
Sprinkle with a bit of grated vegan mozzarello, if desired

GRAB A FORK!

DIG IN!

ENJOY!

Come and get it!

Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes over Herbed Grits Toast with Pesto Drizzle (Vegan)

Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes over Herbed Grits Toast with Pesto Drizzle (Vegan): Bright! Delicious! Good morning goodness!

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

For Herbed Grits

For Roasted Tomatoes

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