Name: Oven-roasted tomatoes
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Accompaniment
Ingredients: 400 g cherry tomatoes; 1 garlic cloves, sliced; 30 ml olive oil or avocado oil; 15 ml honey; 6 sprig fresh thyme; 15 ml white balsamic vinegar; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 2 fresh rocket leaves

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Ingredients (8)

400 g	cherry tomatoes
1	garlic — cloves, sliced
30 ml	olive oil — or avocado oil
15 ml	honey
6 sprig	fresh thyme
15 ml	white balsamic vinegar
	salt and freshly ground black pepper
2	fresh rocket leaves

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Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

Line a baking tray with baking paper and place tomatoes and garlic on the paper.

Mix oil, honey, thyme and vinegar and season to taste. Pour over the tomatoes and roast for 15-20 minutes or until cooked but not too soft.

Serve with rocket, using the pan juices as a salad dressing, or as a side dish or as part of a salad. Any other herbs are delicious with the tomatoes, such as mint, thyme or Italian parsley. Place cucumber slices and blanched thin green beans on a bed of interesting salad leaves, spoon tomatoes on top and serve pan juices as the dressing. Sprinkle with a cheese of your choice. Alternatively serve the tomatoes with pasta or as a filling for a sandwich.

TIPS:
Oven-dried tomatoes:
Halve the tomatoes and place in a single layer, cut side up, on baking trays. Sprinkle a little coarse salt over and roast at 180 °C for 20 minutes to remove most of the liquid. Turn the oven down to 100 °C, as for drying rusks, and leave the oven door ajar. Leave until tomatoes are dried to your preference. After an hour, they will still be slightly soft. Mix oil, vinegar and honey and season to get a sweet-sour balsamic marinade. Sterilise a few glass jars, enough for the amount of tomatoes, and place tomatoes in the jars. Place a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme and cloves of garlic in between and pour the marinade over. Make sure that the tomatoes are always covered with a thin layer of olive oil. The tomatoes are delicious in pasta, salad, couscous, as part of snack, in a mince mixture, with eggs or on sandwiches. The oil is also delicious and great to cook in. Alternatively, dry out the tomatoes in a kettle braai for a smoky flavour. Place them over the coals, with the lid on, once your meat is finished braaing and the coals are cooler.

Butternut can be roasted in the same way for 30-40 minutes and use as described in step 3.

Recipe reprinted with permission of Heleen Meyer.

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