These days, tomatoes are such a year-round staple that each summer it feels like a gift to be reminded of just how seasonal they in fact are. So abundant are they that, for just a few weeks, greengrocers’ shelves (not to mention food-focused Instagram feeds) are all but dominated by the fruit. It’s our annual cry: look how beautiful this tray of tomatoes is! All shapes and sizes, in every shade of red, orange, yellow and green. Small wonder that tomatoes are my idea of fast food. See, season, eat, repeat.
Warm tomato salad (pictured top)
With tomatoes coming into their peak season, it’s tempting just to eat them as they are, raw, for breakfast, lunch and supper. Much as I do that, though, I also love to soften and sweeten them still further by quickly roasting them. Served with good bread to mop up the juices, this turns the tomato into lunch or a starter in its own right, or as a versatile side for all sorts.
Prep 10 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 4 as a starter or side
20g red-wine vinegar
20g caster sugar
Flaky sea salt and black pepper
1 shallot, peeled and thinly sliced (on a mandoline, ideally)
70ml olive oil
1 tbsp runny honey
½ tsp smoked paprika
2 plum tomatoes, quartered (250g)
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smacked flat with the side of a knife
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 burrata, drained (125g)
3 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves picked
Put the vinegar, sugar, a teaspoon of flaky sea salt and 20ml water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk to combine, take off the heat, stir in the shallots and leave to cool.
Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9. Put the olive oil, honey, smoked paprika, a half-teaspoon of salt and a few twists of black pepper in a small bowl, and whisk to combine. Pour this mixture into a medium-sized oven tray lined with greaseproof paper, then add the tomatoes, garlic and thyme, and toss gently to coat.
Roast for eight minutes, until the tomatoes are just starting to fall apart, then turn off the oven and leave the tomatoes to sit in the warm oven for 10 minutes more (or until you’re ready to serve – whichever is later).
Lift out and discard the spent garlic cloves and thyme from the tomatoes, then transfer the fruit to a wide bowl and spoon over all their roasting juices. Put the burrata in the centre of the tomatoes, then sprinkle over a quarter-teaspoon of flaky salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Lift the pickled shallot rings out of their pickling liquid (reuse the liquid in something else, such as a salad dressing), and arrange them on top. Finish with a scattering of oregano leaves and serve.
Crab on toast with lime, cumin and pickled samphire
Prep 15 min
Pickle 1-2 hr
Assembly 10 min
Serves 4 as a starter
2-3 limes (you may not need the third one, depending on how juicy they are)
100g samphire, or similar fresh seaweed
1 garlic clove, peeled and squished with a knife, plus ½ clove extra, peeled for the toast
½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and finely crushed
200g white crab meat
60g soured cream
Flaked sea salt
4 large slices sourdough
25ml olive oil
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
40g mixed sprouting herbs – coriander, radish and pea shoots or watercress
Finely shave the peel off one of the limes in long, wide strips, then cut the fruit into wedges. Finely grate the zest of a second lime, to get a teaspoon, then juice it to get a tablespoon and a half (if need be, juice the third lime to top it up to that much juice).
Mix the samphire, shaved lime peel, lime juice, squashed garlic clove and a quarter-teaspoon of cumin in a medium bowl, then leave to pickle for one to two hours.
In a medium bowl, mix the crab with the soured cream, grated lime zest, an eighth of a teaspoon each of cumin and salt.
Toast the bread until crisp and golden brown on both sides, lightly rub one side of each slice with the remaining half garlic clove, then drizzle a half-teaspoon of oil over each slice.
Lift out and discard the lime peel and garlic from the samphire pickle, then stir in the remaining tablespoon of oil, the chilli and the sprouting herbs. Divide the pickle between the toasts, then top generously with the crab mix. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and the remaining cumin, and serve with the lime wedges on the side.
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