Roast cherry tomatoes
Using peak-season tomatoes and not-so-peak-season tomatoes
The Brandon method
Less water through roasting means a more concentrated tomato.
And at warmer temperatures sweeter tastes are heightened and aroma molecules are more active. So roasting can boost sweetness.
This can be used to enhance (sweet and aromatic) peak-season tomatoes and not-so-peak-season tomatoes (in need of sweetness and flavour).
Not-always-peak-season tomatoes + honey
200°C | 40 minutes (turning halfway)
When styling a shoot of our friends Leigh and Lucy’s dishes, their roast tomatoes reminded me of a tray of honey-roasted cherry tomatoes I’d developed for a magazine shoot, so these are somewhere between the two.
The aim is not just to emphasise flavour but also boost sweetness. And if for some reason you have a need for tomatoes in winter, this method, can bring a very average punnet of supermarket cherry tomatoes to life.
Preheat the oven to 200°C with the rack in the middle. Halve 700g cherry or small vine tomatoes crossways and arrange in a large baking dish that is big enough for them to sit (more or less) in a single layer.
Here there are more tomatoes cooked for longer at a higher heat and it doesn’t matter if they overlap slightly. There’s also no need to hover at the stove watching over them, just come back once halfway through cooking to toss gently.
Add three garlic cloves, strips of lemon zest from one lemon and three small sprigs of rosemary or thyme. Spoon over one tablespoon of raw honey and three tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place the tray into the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Toss gently and roast for another 20 minutes (40 minutes in total). Serve warm or at room temperature on slices of grilled sourdough toast.
The Nikki method
The aim is to roast the tomatoes just until they puff and swell but not until flesh and juices pop out of the skins. In a way, just warming them with some aromatics so they have a little more intensity, as I might do with a fig or an apricot for dessert.
Peak-season tomatoes 180°C | 20 minutes
Preheat the oven to 200°C with the rack in the middle. Halve 500g cherry or small vine tomatoes crossways and arrange in a baking dish that is big enough for them to sit in a single layer. If using vine tomatoes, pluck them off the vine but tuck the vine between or under the tomatoes to lend flavour during cooking.
Key point: Arrange the tomatoes in a single layer, otherwise they will stew rather than concentrate. They can be snugly side- by-side but not overlapping.
Add two peeled garlic cloves, six small pieces of peeled lemon zest (if you have on hand). Pour over two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and season well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place the tray into the oven, turn the temperature down to 180°C and roast for 20 minutes or until just puffed and juicy. Remove and serve warm or at room temperature.
How to use them
When coming to the end of summer, we applied this method to (the aptly named) Bite Size tomatoes, so they were maximally fragrant and juicy. And served them and the syrupy juices at room temperature with slices of soft goat’s cheese and fresh mint leaves dressed in a Dijon vinaigrette.
In early summer we applied it to yellow vine tomatoes tipping the just- short-of-bursting fruit onto fresh spaghetti tossed with gently cooked garlic and red chilli and finely chopped parsley.
You can also store them in an airtight container in the fridge for serving as a side (as described above) or spooning onto sourdough toast spread with creamed cottage cheese or thick crème fraiche.
The pasta
An Aglio Olio e Peperoncino style spaghetti with topped roast cherry tomatoes. It is reminiscent of a restaurant dish that was once cooked up for me in the moment, in answer to the question: ‘What do you feel like eating tonight.’ I could eat this almost every night.
To create a foundation of flavour, finely chop seven peeled plump and fresh cloves of garlic and one to two red chillies (depending on the heat). Add to a small pot with two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and cook gently over a low heat until softened but without colour. Take off the heat and add two tablespoons of finely chopped parsley.
Cook 500g fresh spaghetti in a large pot of salted water at a rolling boil for two to three minutes until just al dente. Drain, return to the pot, add the garlic-chilli-parsley and toss well. Tip in the tomato juices and toss again. Tip in the tomatoes but don’t toss them with the pasta. Using a pair of tongs and avoiding the tomatoes, divide the spaghetti between two bowls, gently spoon the tomatoes over the spaghetti as you go. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper if necessary – but it shouldn’t be necessary!