Balsamic Vinegar Marinated Tomatoes

For my first recipe, I figure I will post the one that helped me rediscover my passion for cooking.  This is the first year in my house that I have had the time to plant a garden, so I was a little overzealous in planting it.  I planted 9 tomato plants, so I had a lot of tomatoes to use.  I searched online for recipes using tomatoes.  I found this one, and had heard a lot about balsamic vinegar so I figured I would try it.

I have found that gathering the ingredients so all I have to do is to measure and add them makes things go so much faster and less stressful.  So to start thinly slice one small or medium onion and soak it in ice water for 30 minutes.  This allows the bitterness to soak out of the onion.  The longer it soaks, the milder the onion flavor.  Now get the rest of the ingredients out.

1 small or medium onion (from above)
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp water
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/2 to 1 cup chopped fresh basil
6 tomatoes thinly sliced
Parmesan cheese (optional)
French Bread (optional)

Now that the ingredients are gathered, it is time to assemble them.  Make sure you have drained and dried the onions.  Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, oil, water , sugar, salt pepper, and garlic.  Stir in the basil and parsley.

Finally it's time to assemble.  Layer half the tomatoes in a shallow dish.  Then layer half the onions.  Drizzle half the sauce over this, and then repeat.  Allow this to marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge before serving.

You can serve the tomatoes on their own, or slice the french bread, and put some tomatoes, onion and Parmesan cheese on it.  I really like it with the french bread and Parmesan cheese.  It makes a really good snack or light meal.  Enjoy!