Broiled tomatoes

A few days back, I made some pasties for dinner. I wanted something to have with them, and I noticed that I had a bunch of tomatoes on the counter. Hmm. Why not just keep it simple, I thought, and broil them. Here’s what I did.

5 Roma tomatoes

Extra virgin olive oil

Cajun seasoning

1 clove of garlic

Several sprigs of fresh thyme

Fresh ground white pepper

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven to 350º (or bake pasties in the oven before fixing these tomatoes). Slice the tomatoes into thirds lengthwise and place them on a cast iron fry pan. Pour olive oil - the very best you have - over the top of each tomato slice. Be generous. 

Mince the garlic clove as finely as you can and sprinkle the garlic over the tomato slices. Season the tomatoes with a sprinkle of cajun seasoning and then snip the thyme with scissors all over the tomatoes. Grind some white pepper over the top of everything. 

When the oven is at 350º (or when the pasties are hot and ready to eat) turn the oven off and turn the broiler on high. Place the tomatoes under the broiler and close the oven door. You want them to bake and broil at the same time. Let them broil until the tops of the tomatoes are starting to char and they are sizzling in the pan. Sprinkle on some freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve immediately. 

Serving

You can serve these tomatoes alongside just about any meal. I piled mine up next to a large pasty (saving some for my second pasty). Along with that, I opened a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington state. A crisp salad and fresh, warm sliced bread and butter complete the scene. For dessert, I had a little homemade blueberry sorbet.