Skillet Charred Tomatoes with Fennel & Basil
The kids are back to school. Summer is at the tail end; in Texas we will still have a few weeks of heat & then the more pleasant weather creeps in. Hot it is here, but I still feel sorry to see the summer go.The Labor Day, almost officially announced that summer will be gone soon, & gone will be the delightful fruits, berries, the warmth & the colors.
If you have noticed, the tomatoes in the first picture are not the same ones as in the recipe. The recipe has been sitting for quite sometime, the pictures being taken the first time I made it. The top picture is more recent, & this time I made it with the tomatoes & basil from my garden.:-)
I had encountered a recipe in the Food & Wine that had used squash blossoms along with skillet grilled tomatoes. Some time back Ilva of Lucullian Delights had posted a pasta which had fennel in it, & since then I had been wanting to use fennel with the so delicious tomatoes we are getting right now. I used fennel here, which the original recipe did not have, & I have to say I loved it. The basil is growing in the pots inside my house; I had almost given up on them, but they are doing pretty good!
Skillet Charred Tomatoes with Fennel & Basil
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 pints small (cherry, candy or grape) tomatoes
- 1.5 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 Cup basil leaves, chopped or roughly torn
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Preparation:Roughly grind the Fennel Seeds with a mortar & pestle.
Heat a skillet (preferably a cast-iron) over high heat until smoking.
Add the olive oil, tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are lightly charred and about to burst, 3-4 minutes. Add the fennel seeds & give it a good toss.
Switch off the heat, stir in the basil. Season with salt and pepper and serve right away.
They were just so aromatic & wonderfully delicious just by themselves! I have made this a couple of times now & did a pasta sauce with the same flavors, which I might post later. I had Arjun try to take pictures of the tomatoes falling from the skillet – in action 
But with all the lighting issues, none came out too good. The second picture was one of them.
Related Posts:
Herbed Carrots with Ginger Garlic Butter
Tags: Basil, charred tomato, charred tomato recipe, charred tomato without the oven, cherry tomato, Fennel, fennel seeds, gluten free, grape tomato, italian, quick side dishes, seasoned tomatoes, side dish recipe, skillet grilled, spice, summer, tomato & basil, tomato recipe, tomatoes, tomatoes with pasta, using fennel seeds in cooking, vegan eggless recipe, vegan side, Vegetarian recipe
September 9th, 2009 at 5:17 am
Hmm the tomatoes look all glossy and I am sure delicious in taste!
September 9th, 2009 at 5:42 am
ummm….they look delicious! The fennel seeds sound like a wonderful addition.
September 9th, 2009 at 5:45 am
Don’t worrru, my picture s are always like this
September 9th, 2009 at 5:49 am
I can imagine the aroma. Kuler moton dekhacche Soma … ekta ekta kore mukhe pure dite icche korche.
September 9th, 2009 at 5:57 am
this looks like a delicious side dish…….the taste of skilled charred tomatoes is heavenly
September 9th, 2009 at 6:25 am
What can I say? The dish must have tasted heavenly:)
September 9th, 2009 at 7:15 am
A wonderful idea and a nice flavorfucombo! Yummy!
Cheers,
Rosa
September 9th, 2009 at 7:19 am
We love fennel and the combination of charred tomatoes and basil seems delightful. I am feeling bad that summer is getting over, not for the scorching heat, but for those long bright days.
September 9th, 2009 at 7:41 am
Hi! This looks tooo good to resist.
September 9th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Good combination! Yummy!!
September 9th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Love the bright red color. Great way to use up those grape tomatoes!
Same here Soma, I am mourning for the rapidly retreating summer. The mornings are cool, gets darker earlier in the evenings
September 9th, 2009 at 7:55 am
I love the thought of adding fennel to tomatoes. Great ideas!
September 9th, 2009 at 8:21 am
Lovely Blog dear… Plz Accept your awards from my blog…
September 9th, 2009 at 8:38 am
How beautiful!
September 9th, 2009 at 11:01 am
I am fan of both tomato and fennel, thanks for this easy recipe………
September 9th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Love the charred tomatoes, even fall has a beautiful bright color
September 9th, 2009 at 11:46 am
I love that deep red color Soma..:)
September 9th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Wow thats looking so good and tempting… PErfect roasting..
September 9th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
looks like we’ve both had tomatoes in mind! i love the simplicity of this dish.
September 9th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
wowww!! Looks yummy!!
September 9th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
The skillet charred tomatoes look so good, and fennel sounds great with these. I’d love this with pasta!
September 9th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Oh! These tomatoes look so yummie, so tasty…love the color of the dish
September 9th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Oh baby, you had me at skillet-charred!
September 9th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Delicious tomatoes and I love the addition of fennel here!
September 10th, 2009 at 2:54 am
What a click! Esp the second one!
Sounds too good!
September 10th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
beautiful !! What color !! What flavor !!
September 10th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
I bet the fennel was wonderful with these tomatoes! Looks really delicious!
September 10th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
The tomatoes look like jewels
Wonderful pic. They look delicious!
September 10th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Love the flavors in this dish! So did you serve it with anything or just on its own as a starter?
We ate up most of it just by themselves. With whatever leftover, i had made a small scale pasta. A few times after that, I cooked pasta with the tomatoes. Will post that sometime later.
September 11th, 2009 at 1:26 am
mmmm,..;-)
September 12th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Perfectly! All my family love tomatoes very much so we must try:)
Thank you very much, Soma!
September 12th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
excellent!!! love the idea!!sure gonna try this!!
cheers!
September 13th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
the tomatoes are so wonderfully glossy… love the picture… and the recipe is so easy to make.. your recipes are lovely Soma
September 14th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
That is an incredible recipe! Who have known, a simple tomato can be made into a delicious delicacy!