This blistered cherry tomatoes on goat cheese recipe makes a classic Greek mezze – a snack, starter or side dish that’s served as one of an array of appetisers. It’s a brilliant side to grilled skewers or meatballs or a simple snack on sourdough. You can fry the cherry tomatoes in a pan or roast the cherry tomatoes in an oven, then serve them atop goat’s cheese.
If you have a glut of cherry tomatoes, you must try this recipe for blistered cherry tomatoes pan-roasted in olive oil, garlic and herbs, piled on goat’s cheese, and drizzled with even more gorgeous extra virgin olive oil. With more time you could slow-roast the cherry tomatoes in the oven, but they’re just as delicious done on the stovetop.
This is one of our best Greek recipes and one of my favourite tomato recipes. The cherry tomatoes are extra sweet thanks to pan-roasting in olive oil, garlic and salt, they’re imbued with the fragrance and flavour of pan-fried dried herbs, and the delicious juices bursting in the mouth are an explosion of Mediterranean summer flavours.
A classic Greek mezze, these blistered cherry tomatoes on goat’s cheese are a great addition to a spread of starters, such as this Greek eggplant salad, artichoke dip, tzatziki, taramosalata, and pan fried feta cheese, and are a brilliant side to Greek souvlaki (skewers) and keftedes (meatballs).They also make a very satisfying snack piled onto toasted sourdough.
Like this? Try this whipped feta and cucumber salad recipe. I’ll tell you more about the blistered cherry tomatoes on goat cheese recipe below. You’ll love it if you’re a fan of Mediterranean food. Looking for more cooking inspiration? We have hundreds of recipes in our archives and if you click on the heart on the right of every post you can save your favourites in a private account.
Blistered Cherry Tomatoes on Goat Cheese Recipe
We’ve been able to buy the most delicious and sweetest cherry tomatoes recently, so I’ve been making this recipe for blistered cherry tomatoes on goat cheese a lot lately. I’ve also been experimenting with different combinations of Mediterranean herbs and white cheeses.
Tomato and white cheese is one of those perfect ingredient pairings, from tomatoes and feta in a traditional Greek salad to tomatoes with buffalo mozzarella in a classic Italian Caprese salad – which I love to make with cherry tomatoes and bocconcini – so it’s no surprise blistered cherry tomatoes and goat’s cheese is such a great match.
I’ve been piling pan-roasted cherry tomatoes onto swirls of whipped feta cheese, a layer of cottage cheese, and slices of grilled halloumi. All matches worked together wonderfully, but there’s something special about cherry tomatoes on goat cheese.
This is another recipe that I’ve tweaked from the beautiful cookbook Philoxenia, A Seat at My Table by Kon and Sia Karapanagiotidis, a cookbook of vegetarian and vegan Greek kitchen recipes, which I’ve been cooking from a lot this year.
I’d encourage you to do buy Kon and Sia’s cookbook, as much as for their takes on classic Greek recipes as for Kon’s inspiring and uplifting stories, his mum Sia’s kitchen wisdom, and Kon’s dad Leo’s gardening tips.
Another reason: all income from the cookbook goes to support the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC), of which Kon was the founder and is the CEO. Plus, the publisher Hardie Grant is donating $1 per book.
I’ve tweaked this recipe for blistered cherry tomatoes on goat cheese ever so slightly. I’ll share my very minor changes, below, along with a couple of quick tips.
Tips to Making this Blistered Cherry Tomatoes on Goat Cheese Recipe
I only have a couple of tips to making this blistered cherry tomatoes on goat cheese recipe, as it’s easy to make and comes together quickly if you do the cherry tomatoes in a pan on the stove-top, as I have.
Kon and Sia’s recipe for roasted cherry tomatoes on goat’s cheese calls for slow-roasting the tomatoes in an oven, although as Kon says in the intro you could do them on a barbecue, under the oven grill, or fry them in a large pan.
As I currently don’t have access to an oven, I’ve been pan-roasting the cherry tomatoes. While Kon suggests that if you’re using a pan to fry the cherry tomatoes on low and slow, I found that the cherry tomatoes just collapse in a soft soggy mess.
My preference for frying and roasting vegetables is to always keep them on the firmer side, so I’ve been pan-frying the cherry tomatoes over high heat, resulting in a combination of textures, and a firmer tomato that’s a little charred in parts that bursts in the mouth.
I’ve tested both firm goats cheeses, which needed a little mashing, and a spreadable goats cheese from Aldi that was absolutely perfect. I’ve also opted for less dried herbs than Kon and Sia recommend, and more fresh herbs. But that’s just a personal preference.
As always, use the best quality extra virgin olive oil you can source and afford; a Greek extra virgin olive oil or another Mediterranean-style olive oil preferably. And if you’re cooking for a crowd, provide extra EVOO, herbs and salt and pepper on the table so guests can help themselves.
Blistered Cherry Tomatoes on Goat Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves - pounded
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 36 cherry tomatoes - washed and dried
- ¼ tsp flaky sea salt
- ¼ tsp ground cracked black pepper
- 200 g goat’s cheese - preferably spreadable
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme - cut into small sprigs
- 1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley - small leaves only or finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh dill - small sprigs
Instructions
- Coat a large frying pan over medium-high heat with extra virgin olive oil. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add the pounded garlic cloves and fry for 1 minute; the garlic will continue to cook, soften and turn golden after you add the cherry tomatoes.
- Add the dried herbs to the pan and stir through the olive oil, then add the cherry tomatoes, and season with the salt and pepper. Stir so the tomatoes are fully coated in olive oil, herbs, and salt and pepper.
- Fry for about 10 minutes or so, shaking the pan every now and again so that the cherry tomatoes cook, blister, and even char a little in places.
- While the cherry tomatoes are frying, use a large tablespoon to spread the goat’s cheese out onto a large serving plate, so it has a rustic, textured appearance. Sprinkle on the sprigs of fresh thyme and dill and fresh flat leaf parsley.
- Slide the blistered cherry tomatoes out of the pan and onto the goat’s cheese. Drizzle on more extra virgin olive oil, grind on a little cracked black pepper, and serve with warm pita bread or crusty sourdough.
Notes
Nutrition
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