Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Slivered Garlic

A few nights ago I made fettuccine with Alfredo sauce and wanted a colorful and flavorful relish to accompany such a pale and creamy entrée. Cherry tomatoes were developed by Israeli scientists in 1973, and now their are a number of different varieties ranging in color, size and flavor. Roasting cherry tomatoes mellows and sweetens their flavor and seems to make their color more vivid as well. I like to use them in side dishes or relishes because they are generally slightly more acidic than larger tomatoes and so add a lot of flavor in small portions. Roasted cherry tomatoes are really good along side polenta, rice fritters or socca and also make a great pizza topping.

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 tbsp parsley, stems removed

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss tomatoes in ½ tbsp olive oil and spread out in 9" x 9" baking dish. Roast tomatoes until skin starts to wrinkle and juices are released, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat ½ tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and parsley, stir to combine and remove from heat.

3. Combine parsley, garlic and tomatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Serve tomatoes warm or room temperature.

Makes about 1 cup of relish