I can safely say that the recipe for hot charred cherry tomatoes with cold yoghurt must be the most popular recipe from Ottolenghi’s new cookbook ‘Simple‘. Everyone who makes it can’t stop raving about it and soon makes it again and again and again also because it’s super simple. Just like the cookbook promises.
The amazingness of this recipe lies in the contrast between the hot, juicy tomatoes and the fridge-cold yoghurt which definitely tickles the senses. Why? Because different temperatures, just like textures and flavours, build variety and depth into a dish. That is why Ottolenghi urges you to make sure the tomatoes are straight out of the oven and the yoghurt is straight out of the fridge. When I saw this recipe for the first time I had my doubts about this combination. That’s why I know you probably will too, but I can promise you it works like a charm and is utterly delicious.
Contrast in temperature is not something new. I’m sure you know the sensation in your mouth when eating an ice-cream sundae with hot chocolate sauce. Or maybe when you drink a cup of hot cocoa topped with cold whipped cream. A more adventurous example is maybe baked Alaska. In this dish meringue acts as insulation which protects cold ice cream from the heat of the oven.
The craziest example I ever heard (but unfortunately have not experienced yet) is Heston Blumenthal’s ‘hot and iced tea’. In this crazy Alice-in-Wonderland drink, Heston serves a cup that contains hot tea in one half and ice tea in the other, divided vertically with no visible divider in the cup. When they assemble this drink they put a divider down the middle of a glass and fill one side with the hot tea and the other with cold. When you lift up the divider you have what looks like a glass filled with a single liquid. Only it isn’t a liquid, it’s two fluid gels that will keep separate long enough for you to feel the difference. Pure magic made possible with chemistry.
Lucky for us the hot charred cherry tomatoes with cold yoghurt is not as complicated as Heston’s drink. On the contrary, this is as simple as ABC, as simple as Do Re Mi, as simple as 1 2 3. I could go on for a while but I think you get the picture. It’s simply combining the ingredients and putting them into a baking tray and then in the oven. After you take them out you add them to the yoghurt which is mixed with some salt and lemon zest.
The only problem with these hot charred cherry tomatoes with cold yoghurt is that my kids don’t like tomatoes. I can’t for the life of me get them to eat tomatoes other than in a tomato sauce. I know that it can take exposing your child to vegetables 10 times before they will learn to like them. But with tomatoes that number might as well be a million. I keep asking them to taste them and they keep shaking their head after trying.
They just can’t get used to these delicious juicy red orbs.
I don’t blame them as I wasn’t a fan either when I was younger. When you bite into a tomato your mouth is flooded with gooey, sorta-sweet liquid, squishy pulp and seeds. That doesn’t sound like a yummy experience, does it? But somehow I learned to love them. Maybe they will too. We will see………………or it will remain one of life’s little mysteries………….
I hope you enjoy this hot charred cherry tomatoes with cold yoghurt recipe as much as we did. If you try it, please let me know! Leave a comment, telling me what you think of it. You can also tag your photo on Instagram with @culyzaar or post it on my Facebook page so I can see it. I love seeing your takes on the recipes on my blog!
Source: ‘Simple‘ – Yotam Ottolenghi
- 500 g cherry tomatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp light brown sugar
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
- 5 sprigs thyme
- 8 g fresh oregano, 4 sprigs left whole, the rest picked and roughly chopped, to serve
- 2 lemons – zest of one shaved off in wide strips, the other one grated
- Flaked sea salt and black pepper
- 350 g fridge-cold extra-thick Greek-style yoghurt (at least 5%)
- 1 tsp urfa chilli flakes (or ½ tsp regular chilli flakes)
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Heat the oven to 200C.
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Put the tomatoes in a baking dish that’s just large enough to accommodate them all in one layer. Add the oil, cumin, sugar, garlic, thyme, oregano sprigs, lemon strips, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, until the tomatoes are beginning to blister and the liquid is bubbling, then turn the oven to the grill setting and grill for six to eight minutes, until the tomatoes start to blacken on top. Or use a blowtorch like I sometimes do. Because how often do you get the chance to use a blowtorch? If you don’t own one go and buy one because according to Julia Child every woman should have a blowtorch.
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While the tomatoes are roasting, mix the yoghurt with the grated lemon zest and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, then return to the fridge.
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Once the tomatoes are ready, spread out the chilled yoghurt on a platter or wide shallow bowl, and make a few dips in it here and there with the back of a spoon. Spoon the hot tomatoes on top, as well as the pan juices, lemon peel, garlic and herbs, and finish with the remaining oregano and chilli. Serve at once with some good crusty bread.
Hi Zahra, thanks for turning me on to this—soooo delicious! I loved the hot/cold contrast, such a zing to the mouth. And thank you also for the fun, engaging intro to the recipe…I felt like I was in your kitchen chatting with you!
Thank you Marne :-). Happy you liked the recipe