Charred cherry tomatoes with yogurt

Ingredients

350g cherry tomatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp light brown sugar
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 thyme sprigs
6 oregano sprigs (3 left whole, the rest stemmed)
1 lemon (half of skin finely shaved into strips, the other half grated into zest)
Flaked sea salt
350g extra thick Greek-style yogurt, fridge-cold
1 tsp Urfa chile flakes (or 1/2 tsp other crushed red pepper flakes)

Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Place the tomatoes in a mixing bowl with the olive oil, cumin, sugar, garlic, thyme, oregano sprigs, lemon strips, 1/2 tsp of flaked salt, and a good grind of pepper. Mix to combine, then transfer to tinfoil boat (just large enough to fit all the tomatoes together snugly) on a baking sheet. Place the sheet about 2 inches beneath the broiler and roast for 20 minutes, until the tomatoes are beginning to blister and the liquid is bubbling. Turn the oven to the broil setting and broil for 6-8 minutes, until the tomatoes start to blacken on top.
While the tomatoes are roasting, combine the yogurt with the grated lemon zest and 1/4 tsp of flaked salt. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
Once the tomatoes are ready, spread the chilled yogurt on a platter or in a wide, shallow bowl, creating a dip in it with the back of the spoon. Spoon the hot tomatoes on top, along with their juices, lemon strips, garlic, and herbs, and finish with the oregano leaves and chile flakes. Serve at once.

2023-12-04: Made without brown sugar and oregano; still delicious! Specific ingredient amounts aren't super important. Lemon peel in the pan and lemon zest in the yogurt are important, as well as the garlic. Good as a side to eat with Lamb and feta meatballs with pita.