After the caramelized fennel disaster, I decided to give Ottolenghi’s bestselling ‘Plenty’ another chance. I’ve been meaning to try the Tomato Party recipe for a while now, but could never find a wide enough assortment of coloured tomatoes to bring to the Tomato Party. So, when I stopped by the Newmarket Farmer’s Market last Saturday, and happened upon a vendor selling the most beautiful basket of tomatoes, I couldn’t wait to throw down the best Tomato Party this world has ever seen. One of my favourite parts about this recipe is that Ottolenghi prepares the tomatoes three different ways. The salad came out very herbal and fresh. It makes a perfect light lunch or side… and as you can probably imagine, is very nutritious. I would recommend this to all you tomato lovers out there!

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3 vine ripened tomatoes, cut into quarters

1 cup yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

1 green tomato, cut into slices

3/4 cup red cherry tomatoes, halved

3/4 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp chopped tarragon

2 tbsp chopped oregano

3 tbsp mint, roughly chopped

1 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cup vegetable broth

3/4 cup couscous + 2/3 cups boiling water

1 garlic clove, minced

olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 325F.

Place the couscous in a bowl with a pinch of salt and drizzle of olive oil before pouring the boiling water over it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and allow the couscous to sit for 12 minutes. Then remove the plastic wrap and stir the couscous to separate the grains.

Pour the quinoa into a small pot and combine the broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 15 minutes or until no excess broth remains (the quinoa should be nice and fluffy at this point).

Spread the quartered vine tomatoes over HALF of a baking dish and sprinkle with brown sugar before drizzling the balsamic vinegar and some olive oil on top. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Increase the oven’s temperature to 400F.

Arrange the yellow cherry tomatoes on the other half of the baking dish. Season with pepper and salt and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for about 12 minutes and remove the tomatoes to cool.

Mix the quinoa and couscous in a large bowl . Add the herbs, garlic, and cooked tomatoes with all their juices. Gently mix with your hands and season (with salt, pepper, and some olive oil) if necessary. Then top with the fresh cherry tomatoes and green tomato slices.

Enjoy!