Baked tomatoes with feta, garlic and thyme

It’s already November and I’m revisiting a lot of my favourite side dish recipes to go with all the upcoming al fresco celebrations.

A few years ago, Barbara Joubert published this phenomenal recipe via Sarie Kos. It is a baking tray filled with tomatoes, whole feta slabs, onions and basil. I first had it at a friend’s house and it was one of the most popular dishes at her braai. I’ve since made it many times at my house, substituting the basil for thyme and adding lots of garlic. It smells like heaven, it looks brilliant and it tastes fantastic – one of those minimal effort, big result recipes. Serve as a side dish, or serve along with freshly baked bread as a starter.

I also add a little sugar to my tomatoes to create an extra caramelized result. If you’ve never baked feta before, get ready for a really great taste and texture sensation.

Ingredients:

• 3 large tomatoes, halved horizontally
• about 300g cherry/rosa tomatoes on the vine
• 400 g feta cheese
• 1 whole head of garlic, halved horizontally
• a few sprigs of thyme
• salt & pepper
• 10-15 ml sugar
• about 60-80 ml extra virgin olive oil
• squeeze of a lemon

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 C.
2. Arrange the large tomatoes cut-side-up on the tray, then add the cherry tomatoes, feta, garlic and thyme. Season well with salt & pepper, sprinkle the tomatoes with sugar, then drizzle all over with olive oil and a little lemon juice.
3. Bake for 45 minutes until the feta and garlic is golden.
4. Remove from the oven and serve warm or at room temperature. Drizzle with more olive oil if served with bread.