Tomates à la Provençale

In many French brasseries this is the standard vegetable, served with just about anything from steak to sole meunière. I find that invariably they soak the entire plate with tomato juices and don’t always do a lot for the taste experience. I prefer eating them- telles quelles, as a starter or as a vegetable dish on their own, but only if I have fresh parsley and thyme to hand. It’s the dried stuff that gives this (and many other dishes) a bad name.