Dairy is an ingredient I love to indulge in, but when I do, I always source from dairy farms with responsible farming practices. Ronnybrook, in New York’s Hudson Valley, is one of those farms. This farm goes above and beyond traditional organic farming methods, never using any pesticides or RBST and making sure their cows get daily access to outdoor exercise. Ronnybrook treats their cows like family and they even have comfort cow stalls with individual mattresses. All of their milk is tested daily to insure that their products meet the highest quality standards.
One of my favorite summertime recipes is roasted garlic tomato toast using Ronnybrook’s European-style unsalted butter. This is my butter of choice because it is fresh churned in small batches and has a higher butterfat content than traditional butters. I usually double this roasted garlic butter recipe and freeze half so it is ready to go for unexpected summer dinner parties.
You can find Ronnybrook at farmers markets all over New York City. They are at the Union Square Farmers Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
This recipe was developed for The Chalkboard Magazine, one of my favorite lifestyle and wellness blogs.
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ROASTED GARLIC BUTTER TOMATO TOAST // serves 10
by Elisabeth Srur
prep time: 20 minutes // cook time: 40 minutes // TOTAL TIME: 60 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
8 oz. ( 2 sticks ) of unsalted butter, room temp.
2 heads of garlic
2 French baguettes
4 large heirloom tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh basil
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
flakey sea salt
pepper to taste
METHOD:
Take your butter out of the fridge so it can warm up to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cut the top off of the garlic heads ( about 1/4" of the way down ) to expose the cloves.
Drizzle 1 tbsp. of olive oil on top of each garlic.
Wrap each garlic in tin foil.
Roast the garlic for 20 - 30 min. each or until a knife comes out easily when inserted in the center.
Allow the garlic to cool about 20 min. ( important so you don't melt the butter too much when you mix it in )
Once the garlic is cooled, squeeze out the softened garlic cloves and mix into your softened butter.
Cut the baguettes in half lengthwise.
Generously coat both sides of the baguette with your garlic butter mixture.
Wrap the baguettes in 2 sheets of tin foil and toast in your oven or on your grill for 5 -10 minutes per side or until the outside is toasted. Turn your bread once to make sure it doesn’t burn.
While the bread is toasting, slice your tomatoes and roughly chop the basil.
Cut the toasted baguette into serving sizes and lay out on a cutting board or tray.
Sprinkle the salt on top of the bread and then layer the tomatoes on top.
Drizzle the olive oil and another light layer of salt and pepper on top of the tomatoes.
Top with the chopped basil.
Serve while still warm.