BURRATA WITH BETTER TOMATOES

MAKES 1 CUP ROASTED TOMATO HALVES, ENOUGH TO SERVE 4–6 / ACTIVE TIME 5 MINUTES / INACTIVE TIME 3 HOURS

I think we all know that gorgeous, juicy tomatoes at their peak are unbeatable with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of flaked sea salt. But for all the other times, when the tomatoes are lacking, you’re going to need to give them a hand. This is a recipe for those tomatoes.

500g tomatoes (see note), split in half ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

½ teaspoon white (granulated) sugar freshly cracked black pepper 30ml extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon thyme leaves

(or leaves from a few sprigs)

1 x 100g ball fresh burrata

TO FINISH

good-quality extra-virgin olive oil basil leaves, to garnish (optional)

Preheat your oven to 120°C.

Place your tomatoes on a baking tray, cut-side up. Sprinkle them with the salt, sugar, a good crack of pepper, olive oil and thyme.

Slowly soften the tomatoes in the oven for 2½–3 hours, until they are juicy, concentrated and beginning to brown at the edges. Remove and allow to cool.

Serve the cooled tomatoes with the burrata and a drizzle of good-quality olive oil. A garnish of fresh basil leaves is a nice touch to finish, if you have them on hand.

NOTE:

Any large variety of tomato, such as Roma or large heirlooms (not cherry tomatoes), will work well here. Heirloom varieties will take longer to cook than Romas as they contain more water, so if using those add an extra hour onto the cooking time (4 hours in total).

SERVING SUGGESTION:

Serve this dish with yoghurt flatbreads to mop up the olive-oil-spiked creaminess from the burrata.