Ki chen herapy with Rosie Birkett

Juicy tomatoes come to life in June, and Rosie makes the most of their natural sweetness with salty feta – a beautifully moreish pairing

Tomatoes become a primary food group for me and my family, come summer. We keep them in bowls dotted across the kitchen counter and on the table, and if I’m passing a shop or greengrocer that has some splendid looking specimens on display, I’ll usually pick up a bag, as I know we will get through them. My daughter absolutely loves them – because they were one of the first things she was weaned on, and I still get a little surge of excitement when I see her curiosity-cum-joy at biting into their flesh and experiencing that addictive interplay of sweetness, umami and acidity which gives the fruit its unique appeal. She loves the small, juicy vine-ripened cherry and plum varieties, simply sliced in half or slightly warmed until bursting and tangled through pasta with olive oil.

For now though, I want to eat them raw, macerated in a little salt, vinegar and olive oil, and I keep an eye out for the bulbous, non-uniform-looking heritage varieties, their skins veined with scarring indicating they’ve been cultivated for their flavour. And I try to remember to take a leaf out of my green fingered mother’s book and save some of the seeds from the best tasting examples I eat. See my tip opposite for more on that.

When the sun is shining, I practically live off tomatoes on toast as a quick breakfast, lunch or snack, and this recipe is an elevated version of that classic, which brings in fragrant baked feta to add a salty, creamy element that works brilliantly alongside the sharp, sweet fruit.