I’ve been cooking for so long that I am usually “just okay” about the meals I make; it takes a lot to make me go hmmmm. The following is a winner (and a nice use of late garden tomatoes):

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1¼ teaspoon salt
• About 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1 lb cooked shrimp (I only used ½ pound, it was just fine)
• 4 thick slices crusty bread
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes (I used a mix of cherry and plum from the garden)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili flakes
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• Chopped parsley

Directions

Make an aioli (do not cheat and use mayonnaise). Whisk together one clove grated garlic, 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt. Stream in ½ cup olive oil, whisking until aioli is light and thickened. Whisk in the tablespoon of lemon juice and salt to taste. Set aside.

Season, peel, and de-vein the cooked shrimp with salt and set aside.

Fry both sides of 4 thick slices crusty bread in about 1/3 cup olive oil until golden brown and crisp, 1–2 minutes per side. Transfer to baking sheet.

Add remaining olive oil to a pan, adding the cherry tomatoes in a single layer – squish them down with a spatula. Cook until they blistered underneath, about 4 minutes. Add 3 grated garlic cloves, and the red wine vinegar, smoked paprika, ground cumin, chili flakes, and remaining salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have simmered down into a thick purée.

Spread a thick layer of aioli over bread slice. Spoon the tomato purée on next. Scatter the shrimp over the purée. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan and pop under the broiler until lightly toasted, as little as 1 minute. Move to serving plates and sprinkle with chopped parsley.