BLISTERED TOMATOES, RICOTTA & MARJORAM

Serves: 4

4 San Marzano or medium red tomatoes Extra-virgin olive oil 1 garlic clove 1 or 2 thyme sprigs, leaves picked 14 oz (400 g) mixed red and yellow cherry or baby pear tomatoes 2 large pink oxheart tomatoes 3⁄4 cup (175 mL/200 g) ricotta Handful of fresh marjoram or oregano Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F (160 C). Cut the San Marzano tomatoes in half from top to bottom and arrange on a roasting pan, skin-side down. Drizzle with a little olive oil.

2. Thinly slice the garlic clove using a sharp knife or mandoline (be sure to use the guard, as it’s when slicing small ingredients like this that you can cut yourself ).

3. Lay the garlic slices over the tomatoes, sprinkle the thyme leaves over them, and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the tomatoes are nicely caramelized.

4. Meanwhile, place a frying pan over high heat and add a little olive oil.

5. When the pan starts smoking, add the small red cherry tomatoes and blister them so that the skin goes black and starts to pop. Season with salt, place on a pan to cool, and set to one side.

6. Slice the yellow cherry tomatoes in half but cut them at a slight angle rather than straight across — this will give them a bit more shape and adds to the texture of the dish. Set aside.

7. Cut the large oxheart tomatoes in half from top to bottom and then cut each half into 3 or 4 chunks, alternating the angle of your cut.

8. Once your roasted tomatoes have started to cool, you’re ready to serve.

9. Divide the roasted tomatoes among four plates. Place the large chunks of tomato in and around the roasted tomatoes, then add a small pile of blistered red cherry tomatoes, and finally scatter the yellow tomatoes over them.

10. Add a spoonful of ricotta (slightly to the side rather than dead centre), and sprinkle with fresh marjoram or oregano leaves.

11. Finish with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper.