These tomato gems need a little preparation, but once done they're great to bring a Spanish touch to all sorts of dishes. Tip into a grain salad with herbs and yoghurt or a simple salad of cucumber and lemon juice with seared or baked fish. You can serve the tomatoes at room temperature with a splash of sherry vinegar, some manchego cheese, a few olives and some crusty bread.
2kg ripe Roma tomatoes, hard skin from the stem removed and a cross scored in the stem end
6 cloves of garlic, finely sliced - a mandolin is ideal
1/2 bunch of fresh oregano, picked and chopped
1/2 bunch of thyme, picked
4 tsp cumin
3 tsp smoked paprika
150ml virgin olive oil
3 tbsp castor sugar
3 tbsp flaked salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 120C.
2. Line two trays with baking paper.
3. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. In batches, blanch the tomatoes for 1 minute (or until the skin starts to separate from the flesh) then plunge into cold water. Slip the skins off, slice in half and press out and discard about half of the seeds, place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients and toss well to combine.
4. Place tomatoes cut side down on a baking tray, pouring the liquid over the top, and roast for 4 hours. Allow to cool fully on the baking tray to help preserve the shape.
Tip: You can layer the tomatoes in a wide-mouthed jar, pour over a little olive oil blended with vegetable oil (about half-half, which stops the oil solidifying) and pop into the fridge. They will keep for about 3 weeks.
Drink: Young, unoaked tempranillo.
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