Soften the butter and blend with the crushed garlic, orange
rind, and seasoning.
Chill for a few minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas
6.
Halve the tomatoes crossways and
trim the bases so they stand.
Place the tomatoes in an oven
proof dish and spread the butter equally over each tomato half.
Bake the tomatoes in the oven for
15 - 25 minutes, depending on the size of the tomato halves, until
just tender.
Serve sprinkled with the basil.
Serves 4
If you can find them, use Italian plum
tomatoes, which have a warm, slightly sweet flavour. For large numbers
of people you could use the very tiny tomatoes, not halved but tossed
several times during cooking.
Freezer Note :
Garlic butter is well worth keeping in the
freezer. Make it up as above, or omit the orange rind and add chopped
fresh parsley. Freeze in thick slices or chunks ready to use, or roll
into a sausage shape and wrap in foil, then cut into slices when partly
defrosted.
