Cooking web notes

Burnt Tomato Halves

“Turn a classic summer favorite into a smoking-hot side dish.”

Do you like some foods when burnt, blackened, or charred?  You know, like marshmallows ~ they have to be charred!  And it used to be that I wouldn’t eat toast unless it was burnt.  I’ve changed on that some, especially when eating breakfast at a restaurant, they just don’t get it and usually won’t do it! 

But, have you ever tried tomatoes with a char?  I had not until just recently when I saw the above quote and recipe in Guideposts magazine.  We love tomatoes here and Bill and Bubba like to eat tomatoes just like I would eat an apple.  I haven’t gone that far yet. 

So give this a try; it’s easy with just a few ingredients and really tasty!

Burnt Tomato Halves

Ingredients:

4 firm, ripe tomatoes

Extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt

16 black peppercorns*

2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves

Method:

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until a drop of water sizzles on the surface.

Cut tomatoes in half.

Brush cut side of tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt to taste.

Place tomatoes cut side down in skillet.

Don’t move them for 8-10 minutes or they’ll burst.

The bottoms of tomatoes will show a black line of char all around when they’re done.

Using a spatula, lift tomatoes off hot surface and invert onto a plate, burnt side up.

Sprinkle with peppercorns and oregano, drizzle with olive oil and serve.

*Note:  If whole peppercorns are problematic, they can be ground or coarsely cracked. 

Serves 4

Have you cooked your tomatoes this way?

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 6:06 AM and is filed under Side Dish, Tomatoes, Vegetables. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.