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I often make the following vegan breakfast toast. I start by finely chopped onions and garlic and heat the combination on a non-stick pan till the onions are brown. Then I add a tomato chopped into small pieces, with some of the juice that comes out. The outcome is a thick cohesive paste that tastes (at least to me) excellent on a breakfast toast sprinkled with salt, pepper, herbes de provence/oregano/powdered coriander.

I like it so much that I would love some pointers on how this recipe could be improved, or if this preparation has a name that I can look up and research. Specifically what I am looking for is a way of making it less dry. I plan on trying olive oil and avocado, but any tips would be welcome.

er0
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    It almost sounds like you're making a cooked bruschetta. I don't really know what to suggest because it's a matter of personal taste, but maybe Google around for bruschetta recipes? – lemontwist Dec 31 '12 at 01:13
  • what sort of toast? baguette slice under the broiler/grill; wholegrain lightly brown with marg; white-sandwich fingers... – Pat Sommer Dec 31 '12 at 05:54
  • Garlic cooks faster than onion and could add bitter notes to the sauce if overcooked. You could try adding the garlic only after the onion has started to brown and fry for a couple of minutes more. – Chris Steinbach Dec 31 '12 at 07:31
  • Sorry, but this question does not have a clearly-cut set of good answers. You could add *anything* to your toast. This type of question is considered a poll and so not accepted here, see also the [faq]. – rumtscho Dec 31 '12 at 13:09
  • Thanks lemontwist. I'm a real newbie and didn't realize that this is what a bruschetta really is. Rumtscho - if you read my question carefully, I had 2 very specific and answerably inquiries: 1. "if this preparation has a name that I can look up and research" 2. " Specifically what I am looking for is a way of making it less dry." The fact that I was trying to improve it was the context. Instead you probably just looked at the title and closed it without paying attention to the text. – er0 Jan 01 '13 at 02:22

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When you mention that you've specifically cooked it down until the onions are brown and the tomatos have lost most of their liquid, I'd say that you might be near a jam ... and there are plenty of recipes out there for tomato & onion jam. Most call for adding a bit of extra acid to it and/or extra sugar.

If you search for 'crostini con pomodori e cipolla' (Italian for "toast with tomato and onion"), most of the recipes have some other added salt component -- anchovies or hard cheeses were common ... but you specifically mentioned vegan.

If it were me, I'd lean towards olives -- they'd hit both the acid and salty notes. Or maybe pickled hot peppers. Or even just a pinch or two of pepper flakes.

As for the problem of it being too dry -- just cook it less. So long as the bread's toasted, and you're eating it shortly after assembly, a little extra moisture won't hurt. You can adjust the cut of the toast (if you're slicing it yourself), or cut it in half, so that it's less likely to flex if it starts to sog, or add some barrier (eg, olive oil) to the bread first so the liquid can't soak in.

You could also try roasting the tomatoes to dry them out and help activate their pectin to gel the remaining liquid. (or add extra pectin)

Joe
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  • Thanks! So as far as garlic + toast goes, it's a bruschetta. As for onions + tomatoes, it's an onion/tomato jam. Both good leads to follow. – er0 Jan 01 '13 at 02:25