Recipe: scalloped tomatoes and croutons

I love tomatoes and on a whim a few weeks back I bought a buttload of 'ripe on the vine' tomatoes. I ate many of them just as they are but soon realized that I wasn't going to get through them all before they went bad. This winter, when tomatoes were BAD, I stumbled across this recipe and knew that I had to make it as soon as I could get the tomatoes worthy of the attempt. With eight quickly over-ripening tomatoes on my counter I figured it was now or never. I will admit, I have now made this recipe twice. The first time I only used 1.5 pounds of tomatoes (I seriously underestimated the weight of 8 tomatoes) and the second time I used the full 2.5 pounds of tomatoes called for. I have to say that I would strongly recommend using the lesser amount. While my first attempt resulted in a sturdy, sweet and delicious dish, my second attempt had blah flavor and was soupy. You could go either way but I suggest keeping the tomato portion lower.

You will need:

3 tablespoons olive oil (reduced from original)
3 cups bread French or Italian bread (day old works best)
1 1/2 lbs good tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons Kosher salt (read this)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup thinly slivered basil leaves, lightly packed
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high. Add the bread cubes and stir so that they are evenly coated with oil. Cook cubes, tossing frequently, until toasty on all sides, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. When the bread cubes are toasted, add the tomato mixture and cook them together, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the basil. Pour into a shallow (6 to 8 cup) baking dish and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until the top is browned and the tomatoes are bubbly.

Once again I cooked this recipe longer than the directions called for to get the desired texture and doneness. I can't begin to describe just how good this dish tastes and smells. I ate it as a side dish but it could easily be the main course of any meal.