The Capsule Pantry: Charred Tomatoes on Yoghurt 13+ ways
AKA the appetizer to end all appetizers
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Two things you will always find in my fridge are tomatoes and plain Greek-style yoghurt.
Which is useful because one of my favourite dishes to make — and I make it at least once a week — is charred tomatoes on Greek yoghurt. What a coincidence, eh?
This dish has been adapted from a recipe by the most excellent of chefs Yotam Ottolenghi. For readers who may not know the name, Ottolenghi is someone who has reached almost cult-level status in the UK. He’s an advocate of everything Middle Eastern and everything vegetarian. Like me, he’s also a big fan of flexibility and many of his recipes can be endlessly adapted to what’s in your fridge.
Yotam, I salute you.
So, back to the tomatoes.
I know that January isn’t the perfect time for tomatoes, but I’m lucky enough to be in Albania, a place warm enough to grow them throughout the year. But seeing as I claim to also champion seasonality, I’ve included some variations that are more Northern-Hemisphere-season-specific.
If you are able to get your hands on half-decent tomatoes right now, this dish is going to make a star of them. The toms are roasted and then charred under the grill, concentrating all those tomatoey sugars into something both sweet and intensely savoury. Smack them onto a bed (does anyone use the word bed to describe food anymore?) of seasoned plain yoghurt and you my friend, have the appetizer to end all appetizers.
Or indeed the lunch to end all lunches.
Charred tomatoes on yoghurt
Serves 4
The original recipe
A pile of tomatoes. I’d say maybe 20-25 cherry toms or 4-5 regular-sized. Keep cherry tomatoes whole, cut the regular-sized ones into quarters
A pinch of cumin seeds
A sprig of thyme
A couple of lemon rind strips
Olive oil
Plain yoghurt, as thick as you can find - enough to thickly cover the base of a pasta dish or platter
Sea salt
A pinch of chilli flakes
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Place the tomatoes, cumin seeds, lemon strips and thyme into a dish that snugly houses them and pour in olive oil - around 1-2 tbsp.
Roast the tomatoes for around 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes or so.
If the lemon rind or herbs look like they’re starting to burn, take them out and reserve them.
Once the tomatoes have shrivelled down or blistered, turn the oven off and put the broiler on. Grill the tomatoes for just a few minutes until they have begun to char on top.
Prepare your plain yoghurt by smearing plenty of it onto your serving dish. Season with sea salt.
Throw on those charred tomatoes, lemon rind and thyme, oil and all. Sprinkle with a few chilli flakes and you’re done.
Variations
No oven? No problem.
I’ve made these on the stove more times than I care to mention. Cherry tomatoes are best for the stovetop - throw them into a scorching hot frying pan along with the thyme and lemon rind with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and fry until they start to blacken and blister. Toss them a few times to keep them moving until they’re cooked.
The herbs
Thyme has been hard to come by on the road so I’ve substituted it with parsley, rosemary and oregano, both dried and fresh. The rosemary works well cooked with the tomatoes but parsley and oregano don’t need cooking, just sprinkle either (or both) of them on top.
The yoghurt
Frankly, these tomatoes are gorgeous on their own if you’re not yoghurt-inclined. You could also use non-dairy yoghurts too.
The chilli flakes
Not a fan? Leave them out.
The vegetables
Leeks - chop finely, throw into a frying pan with olive oil and let them cook down into a delicious sweet mess.
Beetroot / carrot - peel and chop into 1/2 inch pieces, roast at 180C/350F for around 40-50 minutes until soft. No need to grill.
Zucchini - treat much the same way as the tomatoes, but no need to grill.
Cauliflower - cut into small florets and roast in the oven at 180C/350F for around 20 minutes.
The spices
I’ve used fennel instead of cumin seeds on many an occasion. You could also use za’atar or sumac or leave the spices out altogether.