Preheat the oven to 240C/220C fan/475F/gas 9. Arrange the tomatoes and garlic cloves in a roasting dish in a single layer. Drizzle over 3 tbsp oil and roast for 30 minutes. Leave to cool for about 30 minutes.
In the meantime, tear the bread into 2cm-4cm pieces. Place in a bowl, drizzle over 2 tbsp water and 2 tbsp olive oil and gently toss.
Pinch the tomatoes off the vine (wear rubber gloves if they are still too hot), then slip off the skins. Using your fingers, coarsely break the tomato flesh into a bowl, discarding the hard central cores, to give a rough purée. Slip the skins off the garlic cloves, shred the flesh and mash into the tomatoes. Tip in any roasting juices and season generously. Transfer to a serving bowl,gently fold in the bread and set aside for at least 10 minutes or up to an hour.
To serve, cut the yellow cherry tomatoes into thin segments and scatter these over, followed by the baby basil leaves. Finish with 3 tbsp olive oil.
NOTE Look out for the tiny, elegant Greek basil leaves that can now be found in the herb section at some supermarkets.
Chic simple tomato salad SERVES 4
Halve 600g mixed cherry tomatoes, leaving a few whole if you wish, to give a variety of shapes. Peel, halve and finely chop 1 large shallot. Prepare 4 tbsp coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley. Toss the tomatoes with a pinch or two of caster sugar and sea salt in a bowl and set aside for 15-30 minutes. Pour over 4 tbsp olive oil and 2 tbsp lemon juice, then scatter over the shallot and parsley and gently toss.
SERVES 4
SERVES 4