Roasted Andiamo tomatoes

Ingredients:

• Andiamo tomatoes (or other San Marzano type tomatoes)
• Baby eggplants
• Garlic cloves
• Basil leaves
• Olive oil spray or a drizzle of olive oil

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celsius.

Cut the tomatoes, eggplants and garlic in half lengthways.

Spray a large roasting tin with olive oil spray, or drizzle with olive oil. Place the tomatoes and eggplants in a single layer in the tin. Place the garlic cloves on top of the eggplants and tomatoes and scatter with basil leaves.

Roast for 30 minutes or until tomatoes and eggplants have started to collapse.

About this recipe

It’s not really a recipe so much as my documenting of what I did with a lucky bounty from my parents, who are amazing gardeners as I have documented here before. These Andiamo tomatoes are special; they are a variety of San Marzano – a robust plum tomato prized for its sweet flesh and lower water and seed content. They come from San Marzano Sul Sarno, in the Salermo province of Southern Italy, where volcanic soils are thought to make the tomatoes sweeter and less acidic. San Marzano tomato types are favourites for sauces, canning or bottling whole. I took my Dad’s advice with this batch though, and roasted them – they came up beautifully and tasted delicious with the soft little baby eggplants and a smattering of garlic and basil. I topped toasted slices of Vogels with this mixture and a generous spread of feta. Lip-smacking lunches for days and a daily reminder of my luck in having such generous, green fingered parents.