Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado on Toast

For some reason I can’t keep tomatoes fresh at the moment. Because of this I had a glut of them that were looking a bit overripe. Instead of making Tomato Soup like I normally would, I decided to try this recipe from Diana Henry’s A Change of Appetite for brunch at the weekend. It is absolutely delicious! In fact, I made a double batch of the tomatoes and had it again when I got home from work yesterday. It’s a perfect fast, light meal to get you through a mid week slump.  I’ll never be organised enough to have something like this in the morning during the week unfortunately!

The harissa paste is optional but, much and all as I love avocado, I think it really needs something strong to complement it’s buttery flavour. If you don’t have harissa, a few chilli flakes sprinkled over the avocado would work too.

The cooled tomatoes will keep for a few days in an airtight container in the fridge. This way you can make them in advance and have them ready for a simple weekend breakfast. Just reheat them in a pan over a medium heat.

Serves 2

 

 

 

 

 Before and after roasting...

Ingredients:

• 6 Tomatoes
• 1½ tbsp olive oil
• ½ tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• ½ tsp harissa paste (optional)
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 2 avocados at room temperature
• Fresh lemon or lime juice – my preference is always lime with avocado
• Salt and pepper
• 4 Slices of good bread
• 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 190c/170c fan/gas mark 5.
• Halve your tomatoes and place them into an oven proof dish. Mix the oil, balsamic and harissa, if using, and pour over the tomatoes. Use your hands to toss the tomatoes and make sure they are coated all over.
• Leave them cut side up and sprinkle over the sugar and season with salt and pepper.
• Roast for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the tomatoes have caramelised in patches and are slightly shrunken. Give them a little stir halfway through the cooking time.
• When ready to serve, halve and stone the avocado and scoop out the flesh. You can slice them or mash them up slightly with a fork. Season with salt and pepper and squeeze a little lime or lemon juice on top to taste.
• Toast the bread, drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil, then spread on the avocado.
• Put the tomatoes on top and drizzle over some of the juices from the roasting dish.

 

 Optional extras could be a fried or poached egg, crispy bacon or some fried chorizo.

 If you fancy some meat for a more substantial meal, add some crispy bacon and spicy mayo. Yum!