Cheese, bacon and tomato toastie traybake
Serves: 4
Prep time: 15 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Cheese, bacon and tomato toastie traybake
This warm twist on the Italian panzanella salad is the perfect way to use up a glut of tomatoes, which are roasted here to bring out all their beautiful sweetness. Mini cheese toasties make the dish substantial enough for a light lunch with a green salad, or a tasty side dish to serve with simply cooked fish or chicken
Serves: 4
Prep time: 15 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
421Kcal
Fat
24gr
Saturates
10gr
Carbs
32gr
Sugars
15gr
Fibre
5gr
Protein
17gr
Salt
3.3gr
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Ingredients
- 1 x Taste the Difference half ciabatta
- 20g soft butter
- 100g Cambozola, or Brie-type cheese (use vegetarian cheese if required)
- 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 125g smoked bacon, diced
- 1 red onion, finely sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 1.25kg tomatoes, any mix of varieties, halved or quartered depending on size
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes
- few sprigs of fresh rosemary
To serve
- green salad or steamed green beans
Step by step
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Slice the ciabatta in half horizontally and butter each side. Thinly slice the Cambozola and layer on the base of the ciabatta. Top with the other half as a lid and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and fry the bacon for 5-6 minutes until golden. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, reserving the fat in the pan, and set aside.
- Gently fry the red onion for 5-6 minutes, or until soft and golden. Add the garlic and continue to cook for a further minute. Remove from the pan and transfer to a large roasting dish, about 32cm x 23cm.
- Return the frying pan to the heat and cut the sandwich into chunky 3-4cm pieces. Toast on each cut side, until starting turn golden, and the cheese is just starting to melt.
- Put the tomatoes in the roasting tray with the onion and garlic and sprinkle over the sugar and salt. Stir through the bacon and add the chunky cheese toastie croutons. Tuck in the rosemary sprigs and drizzle with the remaining oil. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the tomatoes are softened and caramelised and the croutons crispy. Leave to cool until just warm and eat with a green salad, or steamed green beans on the side.
