This is such a nice way to serve tomatoes whether they’re the best of the haul from the veg patch or a slightly poor supermarket imitation. You’ll roast them whole, slowly, on a low heat with olive oil, thyme, fennel seeds and salt. Then when they are on the verge of losing their shape, you’ll pour cream in the base of the tin and scatter over plenty of grated Parmesan. The result is a very fragrant, absurdly delicious thing which you can have with bread and a green salad, or alongside a roast chicken or some lamb steaks. It’s lovely, too, as a pasta sauce – just break down the tomatoes with the back of your wooden spoon and stir the whole thing through pasta (pick something chunky like paccheri which will catch the sauce).
Ingredients
Timings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan/Gas 3.
2. Put the tomatoes in a roasting tin or cast iron pan (you want them to fit snugly).
3. Drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle plenty of salt over each tomato, then add the fennel seeds.
4. Tuck the thyme in between the tomatoes.
5. Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until the tomatoes have split in places and are starting to slump a little. They should largely keep their shape.
6. Remove from the oven and pour the cream into the base of the tin or pan.
7. Sprinkle over the Parmesan and add some cracked black pepper.
8. Bake for another 15 minutes, or until the whole thing is bubbling and the cheese is golden.
9. Remove from the oven and leave to sit for 5 minutes before serving.
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By elocal magazine