Tomato Toast with Viognier Mango-Jalapeño Salsa

Last week was filled with highs and lows and by Saturday, I was absolutely defeated and spent half the day on the couch watching cooking shows, which is something I don’t typically do. I stumbled across Hailey Duff’s cooking show Real Girl’s Kitchen and found myself oddly tranced by it. I’m not typically a fan of these so-called scripted reality shows but some of the recipes she shared on one particular episode sort of inspired me to pull my carcass off the couch and get into the kitchen.

Since I was in somewhat of a dazed state, I half-listened to her talk about a Coastal Spanish restaurant down in Los Angeles that serves tomato toast. I am pretty sure I blinked and missed the recipe (if they shared it at all), but my mouth was watering at just the idea of serving tomato toast along side of my favorite Viognier-mango-jalapeño salsa. As I stood in my kitchen, still in my pajamas looking like a tragic mess mind you, I looked up a recipe for tomato toast. 

One of the things I love most about cooking is there’s no one size fits all when it comes to recipes or crafting certain dishes. As I browsed through so many different interpretations of tomato toast, I finally settled on a rustic tomato toast recipe, originally found in the New York Times. What I think I enjoyed most about it was the foundation it gave for the salsa, which ends up being more like a bruschetta once you add the crunchy tomato toast beneath it.

I’d say the salsa takes more time to prepare than the tomato toast, but the salsa is full of tropical flavors and it pairs nicely alongside of barbecue chicken or salmon. I added a splash of Viognier, but you could also use tequila to get a hint of smoke which would really enhance the flavors of the toasted bread if you chose to grill it. If you happen to have a fresh pineapple, apricots or cilantro, each would be great additions to this salsa.

I think what I enjoy most about this salsa is that it reminds me of a crisp, cool glass of my favorite Viognier or another Viognier blend. With it’s tropical notes and subtle spice, it’s not overpowered by the sweet flavors of the salsa or the subtle spice from the jalapeños or torn-up cilantro leaves. The bottle I happened to have open was a blend of Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Gris and Albariño and really complimented the tropical flavors in the salsa.

For the Viognier Mango-Jalapeño salsa:

• 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1 ripe mango, chopped
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 jalapeño, diced
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped and smashed
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• splash Viognier or tequila, optional

Directions:

Combine everything into a bowl and place in refrigerator until ready to be served

For the tomato toast:

• 1 french baguette, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1 tomato, sliced with seeds removed 

Directions:

1. Toast the bread in either a convection oven, broiler or grill
2. Rub the garlic across the bread to give it some good flavor. Do the same with the tomato, staining the bread a pretty reddish pink color. Drizzle olive oil and sea salt.
3. Spoon the salsa over each toast and enjoy!

Have you watched Real Girl's Kitchen? Do you have a must-watch cooking show that constantly fills up your DVR?