Lompe with Carmelized Onions & Roasted Tomatoes

Brunch is one of those meals, where anything goes. Hot and cold. Savory and sweet. Honestly, it’s just a good excuse to discard routine mealtimes and have people around to share a laugh, some stories and some good food. One of my favorite little dishes to serve is carmelized onions and roasted tomatoes atop gently fried Norwegian lompe.

Lomper are flat, round potato ‘cakes’, or smaller versions of potato lefse. Lompe is incredibly easy to make at home, with only a few ingredients – a recipe we will touch on in the near future. The great thing, about most baked flatbreads, is that it’s versatile. While it is quite common here in Norway to eat a sausage/pølse wrapped in a lompe, or have it spread with something sweet, I like to think of lompe as a creative base that’s at its best when fried in a little oil. By frying the lompe, the taste is more prominent, with a slight sweetness, making it an ideal base for a variety of toppings. It also makes it a little crispier, lending a greater texture.

With winter still dredging its heels, it’s nice to have something that can give a glimpse into summer. Cherry tomatoes are perfect for freezing whole with their skins on. So, if you’re like me and end up with a little too many after the summer harvest, you can simple freeze them and take a couple out when needed to either roast them in the oven or use in soups and sauces.

Lompe with Carmelized Onions & Roasted Tomatoes

(Makes 24 small lomper)

Ingredients:

• 500g cherry tomatoes, halved
• olive oil
• 800g onions, cut into thin rings
• fresh thyme leaves
• salt & pepper
• 6-8 Norwegian lomper, cut into circles (about 3-4 circles per lompe) – you can use a tortilla or something similar, but the taste will quite not be the same

Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF. Spread the tomatoes, cut side up, along a rimmed baking tray and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil over the top. Roast for 20-25 minutes, turning once and awhile.

While the tomatoes are cooking, heat 3-4Tb of oil in a large pan. Add the onions and thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 25 minutes or until the onions are soft and golden brown. Place them in a separate dish and set aside.

Prepare the lompe rounds by cutting small circles into each lompe with a steel cutter. You should get 3-4 circles per lompe. In a large pan, over medium-high heat, heat up enough oil to just coat the bottom of the pan. Place the lompe rounds in the pan and cook until both sides are golden brown, about 30-45 seconds each side.

Assemble the lomper by spreading the onions over each one. Arrange the tomatoes on top. Serve warm. You can warm them in the oven for a couple of minutes before serving. 

∗ A good brunch accompaniment to my  Baked Smoked Salmon & Eggs