Take a shortcut to great focaccia loaded with cherry tomatoes

At the height of summer, I am all about shortcuts. With tomatoes overflowing my countertops, I look around for quick ways to use the bounty.

My target with this recipe was the cherry tomatoes, which have been producing far ahead of our ability to snack on them. The Sun Sugars and Pink Pixies became the star of this focaccia.  It's a smaller and easier version of a recipe I found years ago in "The Heirloom Tomato," a coffee-table book of glorious tomato photos; the back portion of the book is devoted to recipes.

So never fear, no proofing of yeast here. All you need is a 1-pound bag of store-bought pizza dough, preferably a plain one. (Find it in the refrigerated deli section.) The dough does need time to rise, but takes just 20 minutes to bake.

Turn on the oven? Yes, but try it in the morning when it's cooler, or wait to make the focaccia until the temps drop toward the end of the week. Totally worth it, and better than pizza, really.

Cherry tomato focaccia with garlic and rosemary

Serves 6 to 8 as a side dish

Ingredients:

One 1-pound bag of store-bought pizza dough

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

6 cloves of garlic, minimum, or up to an entire bulb

2 generous cups cherry tomatoes, all the same type or mixed colors

Several small sprigs fresh rosemary

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup or more freshly grated Parmesan

Instructions:

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Spread 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil over the surface of a 9-by-13 inch baking pan, preferably with shallow sides. Take the dough out of the bag (you might have to turn the bag inside-out) and place it on the pan, then spread it out as much as possible, using your fingers. Don't worry if it snaps back somewhat -- it will relax as it softens and warms.

Flip the dough over once so the top side gets coated with olive oil. Cover the pan with a clean dishcloth and place it in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.

In the meantime, put the separated but unpeeled garlic cloves in a small saucepan and cover with water to about 1/2 inch above the cloves. Heat the water to boiling, then let it cook over medium-high heat until the cloves are just tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes. (Test with a toothpick or the tip of a knife.)

Then add cold water to the pot to stop the cooking, and drain the cloves in a strainer. Move them to a cutting board and, after they've cooled a bit, remove the papery skin, and slice each clove thinly. Set aside.

Wash and dry the tomatoes, removing the stems.

Strip the leaves from the rosemary sprigs and chop finely.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

When the 1 hour is up for the dough, remove the dishcloth and again stretch the dough out with your fingers. It should go almost to the inside edges of the pan by now. Dimple the dough all over with your fingers. Using a pastry brush, spread 1-1/2 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil over the dough surface.

Now the fun part: Push the cherry tomatoes into the dough more or less evenly across the surface. You may need more or less than 2 cups, depending on how big the tomatoes are. Brush 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over the tomatoes.

Important next step when all the tomatoes are on the dough: Prick each once with a skewer, toothpick or finely pointed knife.  This keeps them from exploding. 

Next, push the slices of garlic into the dough, againly evenly across the surface. (Pushing it down prevents it from burning.) Then sprinkle the rosemary all over the dough, followed by a sprinkle of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Bake the focaccia in the oven for 10 minutes. Pull the pan out, dab the edges of the focaccia with the last 1/2 tablespoon of oil, and sprinkle the Parmesan over the surface. Bake for 10 more minutes, or until the focaccia is golden and bubbling.

Remove the pan to a cooling rack, and allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes. If necessary, loosen the bottom of the focaccia with a spatula before cutting and serving.