Salad of roasted tomatoes and rocket

Summer is fast disappearing, so I'm enjoying tomatoes while I can - they never taste the same when they haven't had the benefit of sunshine to ripen them. I find peppers to be more consistent year-round, but they still feel like a late-summer ingredient. So here's an easy salad that just needs a bit of time in the oven to draw out the sweetness and emphasise the flavour of the vegetables. Then there's some garlic and coriander to wake them up a bit more.

This salad will do very well as a light meal with some crusty bread, but you could make it even more substantial with the addition of chick peas or cannelini beans. A red onion, cut into eighths and roasted with the tomatoes and peppers, is another nice addition. Serve hot or at room temperature. 

Ingredients

Serves 2

Four vine tomatoes
100g rocket
2 peppers
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 tsbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 small clove crushed garlic

Method

Heat the oven to gas mark 4. Cut the tomatoes into quarters and the peppers into sixths.
Place on a baking sheet and season well ( you don't need any oil). Roast for about 40 minutes or until the peppers and tomatoes are shrunken and softened. (You can take the peppers out and give the tomatoes longer in the oven if you have the time and want to intensify the flavours).

Mix the garlic with the oil and vinegar, then mix gently into the rocket and coriander leaves. Scatter over the roasted tomatoes and peppers.