This is one of the most simple breakfasts but so fresh and so punchy – it was tough taking the photos before devouring this tasty morsel. It’s probably wrong for me to call this a recipe, it’s more like a good flavour combination. Plates all too often get busy or confused but good ingredients can stand alone, as in this case. I would urge you to use vine ripened tomatoes for their sweet earthiness and preferably marinated feta or goats cheese.

We used ‘Meredith Dairy’ goat cheese, which had been marinated in extra virgin olive oil, garlic and thyme. Toasting the bread on a griddle pan adds a nice charcoal punch, cutting through the acidity of the tomatoes and balsamic.

Ingredients – 2 hungry people

• 500g vine ripened tomatoes (usually 2 packs)
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped finely
• About 10 single sprigs of thyme
• Coarsly ground salt and pepper
• A good glug (about 4 tbsp olive oil)
• Enough feta to scatter over both plates
• About 8 basil leaves, to serve
• Sliced bread – to griddle (I used sourdough)

Heat oven to 170°C. Halve the tomatoes and place (facing cut side up) in a backing tray. Sprinkle with the garlic and thyme before seasoning well and splashing over the olive oil. Place in the oven for 30 minutes until the tomatoes have slightly browned. Whilst the tomatoes cook, heat the griddle pan, slice your bread and add a dash of oil to both sides. Griddle vertically, then horizontally for about 2 minutes on each side (don’t worry about being exact, the less precise the better) just be careful not to burn the bread.

Take out the tomatoes, remove the thyme stems and place on the griddled bread, adding the feta and basil leaves to taste. Drizzle over olive oil and thick balsamic and you have before you – Killer Tomatoes (in a good way).