I admit, sometimes I buy food for their beauty, so when I got home with a gorgeous bunch of on the vine tomatoes, I had no idea what to do with them. Not to worry though, all my best foodie experiments usually start like this, so that’s why when my instincts said “Roast” I immediately went with it, and looking back I couldn’t have made a better decision.
Tomatoes have a high water content and roasting them reduces the moisture and concentrates the flavor, plus that char reaction of tomato, olive oil, a little bit of sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper in a smoke grill is to die for.
Okay, no one needs to die but you do get my point? Somewhere throughout the 45 minute roasting process, I had settled on making a spread. I love having spreads and dips in my fridge because they are so useful to snack on. This is particularly delicious paired with carrots and celery sticks or spread on a warm slice of my falafel loaf.
Roasted Tomato + Roasted Garlic + Feta Cheese + Olive Oil + Basil + Salt + Pepper = Creamy Heaven
I hope you enjoy this recipe and leave a comment telling me what you’ve paired it with.
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 tomatoes
- 1 head of garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 6 basil leaves, finely chopped
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Line the tomatoes in a roasting pan and toss with a tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Chop the top of the garlic head, so the cloves are just exposed then drizzle with olive oil to coat and wrap in with an aluminum foil packet.
- Place in the pan of tomatoes and roast both for 45 minutes, by this time the tomatoes should have started to blacken and the garlic should be soft to touch, mushy even.
- Cool for 15 minutes then place in a food processor. Add the feta cheese, basil and left over olive oil and pulse till smooth. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge.