Asparagus, tomatoes and parmesan

Sometimes, only the simplest ingredients in the most classic combinations will do... I found the recipe for parmesan and basil tomatoes in the Observer a couple of weeks ago, and wondered why I hadn't thought of baking them like this before - drizzled with olive oil and simply seasoned with (garlic) salt and black pepper, with fresh basil and grated parmesan for flavour. Since the discovery, I have eaten them like this about four times, so you could say that they're my current obsession. As far as obsessions go, they're definitely one of my healthier ones

Then, there's the asparagus. What can I say, as Carluccio  points out in his book "Vegetables", "the combination of the melted butter and the nuttiness of the parmesan is a simple one but nonetheless very, very good". I don't even boil the asparagus, I just let them stand in the boiled water for 15minutes while the tomatoes are baking

Be warned: If, like me, you don't have any bread in the house to mop up the juices, you may end up being completely disgusting and using your fingers, or even licking the plate