Slow-roasted tomato salad recipe

Ingredients

• 450g tomatoes on the vine, halved
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 40g fresh breadcrumbs
• 50g pine nuts
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp freshly snipped chives
• 50g feta
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season

Method

This is a wonderful way to use a glut of tomatoes (of which there’s a surplus in Greece over the summer!) It is delicious as part of a meze or just good on its own with wholemeal village bread.

Preheat the oven to 120˚C/fan 100˚C/gas 2. Arrange the tomatoes cut side up on a roasting tray. Mix the garlic with the 2 tbsp olive oil, brush over the tomatoes then season with a little salt and pepper.

Thread the thyme leaves off their stalks over the tomatoes. Now cook for 1½–2 hours or until very soft, slightly wrinkled.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the breadcrumbs for 1–2 minutes or until golden then add the pine nuts and continue to cook for a further minute to toast the nuts and crisp the crumbs. Remove from the heat.

TIP

Prepare the tomatoes well ahead and store in a lidded container, then bring to temperature and gently warm through before progressing at stage 3.

Tonia Buxton's Eat Greek for a Week is out June 4 (Blink Publishing)