/ 19 July 2024

What’s On My Table, With Alexandra Dudley

Alexandra Dudley is a food columnist, cookbook author and host of the Come For Supper podcast. In this monthly column, she takes us inside her east London kitchen to show us what she’s cooking and the tools she’s loving. This time, it’s a dish that makes the most of tomato season – plus three of her top serving accessories…

Alexandra Dudley

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Now is the time to enjoy tomatoes. And a very good way to enjoy them is to simply slice a fat, juicy tomato and assemble it onto a slice of toast drizzled with olive oil and rubbed with a halved garlic clove. But if I have a little more time, then this is how I like to make my tomatoes on toast. The tomatoes blister first in a pan before they cook down a little with garlic until they are glossy and almost jammy. The fennel seeds add an extra something and should not be skipped. This is a good one for a weekend brunch, especially if you are hosting friends. Should you have any leftover tomatoes, spoon them into pasta or over salads, or enjoy them with more toast.

Blistered Tomatoes On Toast With Fennel Seed & Ricotta

Serves

Total Time

15 Minutes

Ingredients

1 tsp of fennel seeds

Olive oil

400g of Datterini or cherry tomatoes

1 garlic clove, very finely grated

Sea salt

Toast

Roughly 200g of ricotta

Basil leaves, to serve

Method

Step 1

Start by toasting the fennel seeds in a dry frying pan over a gentle heat until they begin to smell fragrant and turn slightly golden. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Step 2

Heat a generous few glugs of olive oil (about 3 tablespoons) in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, toss to coat then leave them untouched for about 3 minutes until the underside has blistered.

Step 3

Reduce the heat to a low-medium heat and stir through the garlic. Cook for a minute or two, then add the fennel seeds. Continue to cook the tomatoes gently for about five minutes until their released juices begin to emulsify and the tomatoes are slightly jammy.

Step 4

Spoon the ricotta onto your toast and spoon over the cooked tomatoes. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh basil.

THE THREE THINGS ALEXANDRA'S LOVING THIS MONTH

Linnea Ceramic Egg Crate, £16 | Anthropologie

I just moved flat and have been loving having more counterspace. This egg crate has a homely charm without making the place look cluttered.

Available at Anthropologie.com

Set Of 6 Evelyn Crystal Wine Glasses, £60 | Rebecca Udall

I love glassware and have a lot of it. But the glasses I return to most of all are a sturdy, thick-stemmed set I’ve had for years. These are very similar if not more beautiful. If you are looking for robust, dishwasher-safe glassware that still holds up on the dinner table, these would be wonderful.

Available at RebeccaUdall.com

Ginger Switchel, £27.95 | Mother Root

I am really embracing my 0% proof spritzes recently and love the Ginger Switchel from Mother Root. The team has just done a collaboration with London artist Kenya Josiah. The artwork label is full of colour and the joys of summer.

Available at MotherRoot.London

AND OFF THE TABLE

Julie's

Julie’s, the restaurant famed for attracting the most glamorous of the glitterati from royals to rock stars, has reopened in Notting Hill. I met a friend for lunch a few weeks ago and felt like I’d stepped onto the set of a chic film set in Paris. The interiors feel somewhere between a members club and an eclectic home, plush and chocolatey with that perfect soft lighting that makes everyone look and feel ten times sexier. But the joy of Julie’s (apart from the food) is its outdoor terrace, which spills out onto the streets underneath the dappled light of an old London plane tree. It feels like a slice of Paris in London.

Chef-patron Owen Kenworthy (previously at Brawn and The Pelican) is in charge of a menu that celebrates modern French brasserie-style cooking with a British ingredient spin. I fell in love with a dish of pea panisse that came adorned with pea shoots and Cornish gouda. In the end, I think we ordered almost every starter on the menu. The dishes feel plentiful and generous, something that feels increasingly rare. I had expected caviar with new potatoes and crème fraiche to feature two, perhaps three potatoes. Instead, an entire silver bowl arrived brimming with golden roasted new potatoes. I could wax lyrical on the bread basket and the daily changing butter (whipped with bacon on the day I was there). The food is joyous – as is the service – and it’s perfect for a date night or just a good lunch.

Visit JuliesRestaurant.com

For more from Alexandra, follow @AlexandraDudley or visit AlexandraDudley.com