Tomatoes Provençal # French Fridays with Dorie (Catch-up)

Its been almost two weeks since we moved to India.  My toddler hasn't yet come to terms with the move. He constantly insists that we get back "home." I guess it takes time to get used to the heat and dampness .... the very things that breathe home to us....

My toddler celebrating my grandma's birthday in Kolkata

After living with my parents in Kolkata for a week, toddler and I finally moved to Bhubaneshwar over the weekend. The city of Bhubaneshwar, experienced a IT boom a couple of years back. As a result apartments with basic facilities are mushrooming everywhere, but so far, we have not been able to find a place that is close enough to the institute where my husband works. So we are living out of our suitcases in a guest house and looking for a place we can call home.   

Under the present circumstances, cooking is not an option. We've been eating in the student's canteen. The food in the canteen is tasty but spicy. Way too spicy if you ask me... The toddler wisely has turned towards healthier options. He has been surviving on plain white rice, oats, boiled eggs, milk and bananas. The combination has been keeping him happy and energetic, so we are not overly worried about the lack of greens and colors in his diet. Afterall this arrangement is temporary and hopefully things will start falling in place soon....

In an effort to keep pace with the Doristas, I prepared a few dishes from AMFT, before we left US. This baked tomato dish was a particular favorite. Because tomatoes were cheap, and preparing the dish is easy, I kept including Tomatoes Provençal (sometimes an "almost-Indianized" variant of it), as a side for every other meal. In all its avatars this dish was well received... So, in case you are running out of ideas or enthusiasm for an  elaborate side for dinner tonight,  consider this simple baked tomato dish..

To prepare it, preheat your oven to 375°F,  cut few tomatoes in halves, mix crushed garlic, basil plus few other herbs of your choice, salt and pepper and olive oil in a bowl, rub the mixture over the open halves of the tomatoes, place them in a greased baking tray and bake for 50 minutes, basting the tomatoes once in between with the juice released from them... and viola ! Tomatoes Provençal is ready to enjoy. I think, baked with a sprinkle of pesto and mozzarella on top, these baked tomatoes will also make excellent starters at any girly party ....

You can find Dorie's recipe for Tomatoes Provençal in her book Around My French Table . Also it has been published in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.