This recipe from Mazi Modern Greek Food cookbook and makes the most wonderful starter. I grew the tomatoes in my Click & Grow Smart garden and this was the perfect use for them. The tomatoes are first skinned and then gently warmed in honey & a knob of butter to glaze them, the result is delightful. The recipe calls for a very large quantity of thyme to make the oil but it is well worth it, if you grow your own thyme it shouldn't be a problem and the recipe does made more of this wonderful flavoured oil than you need which can be saved for another day. (The recipe in the book calls for double the amount of thyme & oil but I found there was plenty with loads to spare from the amount listed below)
Make extra tomatoes, they are delicious re-warmed and squashed onto a piece of toasted sourdough with avocado or cream cheese. The thyme oil is delicious drizzled over meat or fish or even pizza.
Ingredients:
16 cherry tomatoes
100g thyme leaves
200ml extra virgin olive oil
good pinch of salt
20g honey
10g butter, diced
120g soft goat's cheese
handful of capers
Method:
Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 20-30 seconds, then transfer them to a bowl of ice-cold water to cool them very quickly. Drain & slip of skins, place on kitchen paper to dry. Note: if they are in the boiling water for longer than 30 seconds they will begin to go soft and will be difficult to peel.
16 Cherry tomatoes (4 per person) |
Blend thyme leaves with olive oil & salt in a food processor, blender or in a jug with a hand blender until well combined, set aside for flavour to infuse, preferably for an hour or so, then strain through a fine sieve.
100g fresh thyme leaves, 200ml extra virgin olive oil, good pinch of salt |
The above steps can be done well in advance, when ready to use, put tomatoes in a saucepan, add honey and warm over a gentle heat, stirring very gently to glaze them but being careful not to break them. When honey thickens, add butter and swirl pan around to mix it in.
peeled cherry tomatoes from step one, 20g honey, 10g diced butter |
Roll goat's cheese into 12 small balls, place on a baking tray & warm quickly under a preheated grill for no more than 1 minute. Place 3 balls onto each serving plate, add 4 glazed tomatoes to each plate, scatter over capers and pour around thyme oil, serve with plenty of crusty bread to soak up the delicious juices.
120g soft goat's cheese, handful of capers |
Notes on where I get my ingredients:
Cherry tomatoes grown in my Click & Grow Smart Garden
Goat's cheese - Ardsallagh Goat Farm, widely available to buy in Ireland
Please see my page above to read about full benefits of Click & Grow smart gardens, for a 10% discount enter my discount code JACQUI10 at checkout, always check my main page for further discounts during sale events there can be up to 35% which will always be listed with the link on that page.
If you are interested in buying MAZI Modern Greek Food cookbook or any other cookbook, please use this link.
Thank you, Jacqui
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