Little red gems

  Last night was a bit of a catastrophe as I didn't get home till way past my bedtime but I managed a bit of a lie in so it wasn't all bad. (I do need my beauty sleep these days). On a separate note, there's a weird phenomenon I've noticed today with a lot of people asking me if I'm going to watch the football. I'm not sure what is so special about this football and why it needs to be looked at but someone will probably explain at some point.

  Attempt at comedy over and on to important things like side dishes. While away in twisty Germany, for one of the meals I created, there were some roast cherry tomatoes on the plate. These went down like a wet penguin on a greased helter-skelter and even prompted a call from one of my fellow bikers asking for the recipe for his supper.

Just stab 'em and roast. Easy as that.

  The great thing about them is how easy they are and that they lend themselves perfectly to being endlessly tweaked according to your taste or what you choose to serve them with. As a suggestion, they could be the star of the show, served up on toast or in a strong supporting role, accompanying scrambled eggs for example or as one of a selection of vegetables on the side of a piece of fish or a lamb chop, their sweet acidity reassuring without being overpowering.

  Waxing lyrical over and on to practicalities. Get your oven to about 175c and find an oven proof dish large enough for the cherry tomatoes to be spread out and not piled up. With a cocktail stick or similar, make a few tiny holes in each tomato. This helps control the burst as there's a bit of room for the tomatoes to expand as they cook without exploding messily everywhere. 

  Put the tomatoes in the dish with vinegar, (balsamic is my favourite), olive oil, salt and pepper. You can also add things like chopped garlic, herbs (thyme and oregano often feature in mine), anchovy, pine nuts etc. Stick it in the oven for at least 15 minutes, giving it a shake after ten minutes to let them know you've not forgotten about them. You'll know when they're done because they're soft without having lost their shape. If you were one of the people who is watching the football, I hope it did what it was supposed to. Meanwhile I'm off to do some important bike adjusting.

Kirk out

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