ROAST TOMATO AND FENNEL SALAD WITH FETA CHEESE

As the summer comes into its own, the garden needs tending on a regular basis and I spend more hours working outside than in the kitchen. Most of my time and engery is spent waging a war on the weeds in the vegetable patch which I am afraid, as I write, is a battle I am losing.  For the sake of my mental health I have decided that the self seeded parsnips that keep appearing in my gravel path actually look quite pretty and the poppies that have also decided to make camp there are in fact my ally and not the enemy.

These tasty salads are a boon in the summer, not only quick and easy but positively brimming with goodness and make me feel not quite so guilty about having a slice of cake or the odd cream tea in the garden.

The tomatoes and fennel take about an hour to roast but they are faff free and just need to be plonked in a tin with a drizzle of olive oil and some sea salt, letting you get on with whatever else you want. Hopefully, sitting in the garden with a glass of something nice in hand.

Roasted tomatoes take on a beautiful deep sweetness after being baked and become one of the stars of the show rather than just a bit player. Don’t be tempted to take them out of the oven too early, let them take on some brown caramelisation and turn really soft.

The salad is filling enough to eat as as a main on its own, but if you are feeling very hungry you could mop up the delicious juice left on the plate with a hunk of crusty bread.

Enjoy.