Heirloom Tomato Gratin Recipe

It's safe to say we're little obsessed with tomatoes right now.

Consider this recipe a special bonus: To bring out the best in the season's sweet heirloom varieties, Our Test Kitchen created a tomato gratin (see the recipe) that packs a few surprises.

Instead of the usual suspects–basil and Parm–we dressed the gratin with fennel-and-garlic-infused oil and made a topping from whole wheat bread and aged Gouda.

"It's the classic tomato gratin's louche cousin," jokes our senior food editor Raquel Pelzel. "The Gouda has this edgy butterscotch thing happening, and combined with the anise flavor of the fennel and the nuttiness of the bread, the whole thing just oozes umami."

Need we say more?