Fried tomatoes on toast

Serves 4

Fried tomatoes on toast (Jason Lowe)

I bought some great Marmande tomatoes from Waitrose recently. They are a classic ribbed beefsteak variety and they are more usually seen on the Continent than over here. If you see them, snap them up – they are delicious simply pan-fried in olive oil and placed on some toasted sourdough, as I have done here. Waitrose also sell fragrant bush or Greek basil which gives the dish a nice freshness.

4 slices of sourdough bread
3 or 4 Marmande or beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 1cm-thick slices
3-4tbsp olive oil
A few sprigs of bush or Greek basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat some of the olive oil in preferably a non-stick frying pan and fry the tomatoes on a fairly high heat for a couple of minutes on each side.

Meanwhile, toast the bread and lay the slices of tomato on top. Drizzle with the olive oil, season, and scatter over the basil.