I had six cherry tomato plants in the garden which produced more tomatoes than I knew what to do with. They were supposed to reach a maximum height of 6o inches but in fact, they grew over the top of the fence which is 8 feet tall. They produced so many tomatoes that the ground below them is constantly littered and still I get a colander full each day.

The regular tomato plants, all picked out deliberately and carefully with much thought about their different attributes, (Early Girls, Beef Steaks, and a heritage variety supposed to be wonderful for cooking) all turned out to be exactly the same kind. They too produced prolifically and the plants are still hanging with green tomatoes.

For the past two months, I’ve made a concerted effort to eat, cook, and give away tomatoes. I’ve made tomato sandwiches, spaghetti sauce for winter, and my own oven-dried tomatoes. I’ve experimented with a whole load of recipes. This one though, baked cherry tomatoes and feta, is a favourite.

The first time I made it I served it for a light weeknight supper with just olive and rosemary sourdough bread. It would make a fantastic bruschetta topping and I imagine it would be amazing on a pizza crust too. This weekend I served it with salmon. It’s wonderfully and intensely flavourful and a perfect way to serve up cherry tomatoes, even if you’re not drowning in them.

Baked Cherry Tomatoes and Feta

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved or not

200 grams feta, crumbled

10 spicy green olives, or black olives, or whatever olives are on hand, pitted

a handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

1/4 tsp. chili flakes

ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a one-litre ovenproof dish.

Sauté the onion in the olive oil until the onion is softened. Add the garlic and continue sautéing for another minute or two. Dump in the cherry tomatoes, olives, chili flakes and crumbled feta. Transfer to an oven dish. Sprinkle with basil and black pepper. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve hot with crusty bread, etc.