Red Hot Monday: Fast Broiled Grape Tomatoes

They may not be exotic, but broiled grape tomatoes are delicious, fast enough to make on a weeknight, and decidedly red—the perfect veggie to kick off “Eat the Veggie Rainbow” week! Better yet, if you like a show with dinner, when grape tomatoes broil some of them get so steamed up they erupt, sending off little tomato-juice-geyser “fireworks.” How’s that for a red hot Monday night?

_____

Broiled Grape Tomatoes

Guidelines for this dish were gleaned from the “Broiled Cherry Tomatoes with Herbs” recipe in Mark Bittman’s indispensable cookbook, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. While broiled tomatoes are tasty in their unadorned state, you can also sprinkle them with chopped fresh basil or parsley after they come out of the oven, finish them with a good grating of Parmesan cheese, or kick them up with a little hot sauce. Yowza!

Prep time: 10 minutes Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 dry pint grape tomatoes (1 container; about ½ pound)
1 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Directions

Preheat broiler. Move oven rack to the top position, about 4 inches from the broiler.

Toss tomatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet.

Broil for 4-5 minutes, until the tomatoes split and get a slight tan. Watch constantly after the first three minutes of broiling to ensure they don’t scorch, and to take in the little “fireworks” show they’ll put on for you. (Just use caution if you decide to open the oven while checking on them!)

Serve the tomatoes straight out of the oven, or dress them up them with fresh herbs, Parmesan, or hot sauce. Enjoy!