Cherry Tomato Focaccia Topping

YUM. YUM. YUM. That's all I have to say.

That and, when the Lord bestows abundant numbers of cherry tomatoes on you for free, you find numerous ways to consume them. ☺

You can use really any focaccia bread dough here--or even storebought pizza dough from a can if you'd like. I use Bittman's pizza crust/focaccia dough recipe here because I always use it and it's easy. We like this with a hearty entree salad, but it also makes a great first course, would go well with soup, would work well in a lineup of homemade pizzas, etc. It's good hot and at room temperature, and reheats tolerably well.

Cherry Tomato Focaccia Topping
~adapted from Simply in Season

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• olive oil
• 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella
• handful fresh basil leaves, snipped (if you have it)
• salt and pepper
• 1 recipe focaccia dough

1. Prepare dough per directions through the patting out part (I use a jelly roll pan to bake this in).
2. About 30 minutes prior to the dough being ready (my dough has to rise 30 minutes on the pan itself, so I start this step when I get to that part of the dough), toss halved cherry tomatoes with about a teaspoon sugar and about a teaspoon salt. Let sit for 30 minutes or so. Then spin tomatoes in salad spinner off and on for about 30-45 seconds, or until most of the seeds and juice have spun out. (This is a handy trick I learned from America's Test Kitchen.)
3. Drizzle olive oil onto dough.
4. Sprinkle with minced garlic.
5. Place cherry tomato halves around dough, cut side up.
6. Sprinkle cheese over (this is a light sprinkling--this is not pizza).
7. Sprinkle basil leaves over top.
8. Add salt and pepper if desired (but remember the tomatoes have a wee bit of salt in them, the cheese adds salt, etc.).
9. Bake according to focaccia bread dough directions (mine bakes at about 375 degrees for about 1/2 an hour).
10. Enjoy!

Makes enough for one focaccia dough recipe