Pan fried tomatoes

When we lived in Canada, good tomatoes were pretty much impossible to come by. Even in summertime, there was no comparison with dry farmed tomatoes we get in California, or the famed Istrian tomatoes. Necessity does seem to be the mother of invention - when Jasna and I went to the Shaw festival, we stayed in a bed-and-breakfast in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The breakfast were somewhat overdone scrambled eggs, and the best tomatoes I had had in years. I could not believe how good they were - and tomatoes were definitely not in season.

We learned that the tomatoes were beyond trivial to make:

• Wash the tomatoes and cut out the stem
• With a sharp knife slice the tomatoes about 1/2 inch thick
• Heat non-stick pan with some oil at a medium high-heat
• Place tomatoes on a hot pan, salt very lightly
• Flip the tomato slices carefully in a 3-5 minutes, again add a touch of salt
• When cooked, use a spatula to transfer on a plate
• Optionally: sprinkle with some fresh thyme or basil
• Eat with a big grin

Tips: Watch the heat so that the tomatoes don't burn. Cooking the tomatoes a bit more or less is entirely your call. I have this recipe in non-stick pans, and in cast iron pans. Both work, and I didn't taste any iron/metal when cooking in cast iron. Maybe because the cooking time is so short.

I like to make the tomatoes this way, especially for breakfast. When one starts with sun-dried tomatoes, the result is stunning. Even when the tomatoes are not at their peak, this quick recipe helps quickly caramelize whatever sugars are in the tomato and converts them into sheer goodness on a plate.