Slow Roasted Tomatoes
Tomatoes straight off the vine are undeniably good, but tomatoes slowly roasted with olive oil, herbs, and salt are crazy good. I can eat an entire pan of them by myself in one sitting. They are that delicious.
The goal of slow roasting tomatoes is to concentrate the natural sweetness of the fruit, without drying them out. I roast mine at 225 degrees F until they have shrunk in size by at least a third (usually about 5 hours) and are wrinkled, soft as a pillow, and have a jam-like consistency. Paste tomatoes like ‘Principe Borghese’, ‘Striped Roman’ and ‘Amish Paste’ and salad tomatoes like ‘Jaune Flamme’ and ‘Stupice’ work best for roasting because they are small and have relatively dry flesh. You can roast cherry tomatoes, but they do better at higher temperatures because they are so juicy. I usually slice them in half, toss them in olive oil, and roast them at 425 degrees F for about 10 minutes and then pour them over pasta. Big, beefy tomatoes like ‘Brandywine’ and ‘Japanese Black Trifle’ are better served raw. I’ve only harvested three ripe tomatoes so far this year, and they were all sungolds (I know, pathetic!). So I’ve been buying tomatoes at the farmers market while I wait, fingers crossed, for the rest of my very green tomatoes to ripen.
Slow Roasted Tomatoes
Slow roasted tomatoes are incredibly versatile, you can include them in a mezze platter, toss them with pasta, cut them into chunks and add them to whole grain salads, layer them on sandwiches, place them on top of toast, and eat them straight off the pan. I also like to toss them with a clove of chopped garlic that has been softened in warm olive oil and a couple tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and let them marinate in a shallow dish for a few hours. They also freeze really well and are such a treat in the winter.
Just keep in mind that they are called slow roasted tomatoes and they can take 6 hours or longer to reduce, so plan your timing accordingly.
Ingredients:
Tomatoes (about 15 ‘Jaune Flamme’, which are slightly larger than a ping pong ball, will fill a regular rimmed baking sheet)
Olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.
Wash the tomatoes and slice them in half lengthwise (from stem end to the bottom). Arrange the tomatoes in rows on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil (about 3 tablespoons) over the tops of the tomatoes. With your hands, rub the olive oil all over the tomatoes, making sure they are completely coated. You don’t want to leave any spots bare, as they will dry out and get crispy in the oven. Sprinkle salt and the thyme (if using) over the tomatoes, plus a good grind of pepper.
Slide the tray into the oven and let the tomatoes slowly reduce. Check on them about once an hour, if they start to dry out, drizzle on a little more olive oil. Pull them from the oven when they are very soft, wrinkled around the edges, and have a jam-like consistency in the middle. The timing will depend on the size and juiciness of the tomatoes, but it usually takes between 4 and 6 hours.
I’ve had a dissappointing tomato season. My plants were affected by tobacco mosaic virus. Subsequently I pulled out most of my plants but managed to rescue a bumper crop of green tomatoes. Do you think your recipe would work for green tomatoes?
August 19th, 2010 at 9:05 amYou guys have had the coolest weather this year. Hard to grow tomatoes in that. I tweeted your post. I must make these today. I have quite a few tomatoes.
August 19th, 2010 at 9:10 am.-= Dee @ Red Dirt Ramblings´s last blog ..Three for Thursday- purple and green =-.
YUM!!! Now if only I had more than 2 or 3 tomatoes. What a horrible year for them… I can’t figure out if it’s the weather or my soil, either way it’s been very disappointing.
August 19th, 2010 at 9:11 amOoooooh, Willi this looks delicious! Maybe I’ll print out the page and prop it up next to my Jaune Flamee plants so they’re clear on what’s expected of them!!! Starting to get a hint of color on my Carmellos, but yes, like you, all I’ve harvest have been little Sungolds. Thank goodness for Eastern Washington Farmers!!!
August 19th, 2010 at 9:12 amGoodness, I saw that photo and had a pang for the delays in my own vegetable garden (in PDX) but was so relieved to know it’s not just me. I’ll just keep waiting to try this delicious looking recipe.
August 19th, 2010 at 10:56 amI had to laugh, I’ve also harvested exactly 3 Sungolds…..with a single ‘Matt’s Wild Cherry’ due up next in the next day or two. Sigh. Not the best tomato year here!
August 19th, 2010 at 12:45 pmYum, yum, yum. I don’t know when I’ll have a block of time to do this. I’ve frozen them in the past as you mention. I like dicing them up out of the freezer and throwing them with pasta.
August 19th, 2010 at 1:22 pmAnother great and easy idea from you. Luckily, and for the first time, I now have lots of Stupice. Will become a staple for me
August 20th, 2010 at 9:07 amI’m glad I’m not the only one with a bunch of green tomatoes….I keep thinking one of my plum tomatoes is developing a rosy tint but I think it’s just wishful thinking…And I love roasted tomatoes – off to the market again!
August 20th, 2010 at 7:33 pmCan these be done in a slow cooker? Anyone tried that?
August 22nd, 2010 at 6:32 amI love slow roasting tomatoes, it really punches up the flavor and texture. I usually drizzle a wee bit of balsamic vinegar to the mix for another flavor kick. Nice post!
August 22nd, 2010 at 9:24 am.-= tom @ tall clover farm´s last blog ..Dandelion Wisdom =-.
Yum! I was just thinking of doing this today because we have a ton of cherry tomatoes, but wasn’t sure how to go about roasting them. I may have to try this next weekend!
August 22nd, 2010 at 8:05 pm.-= Terri´s last blog ..Weekend Reading =-.
my mouth is watering for this right now! I will be making this this weekend! Thanks!
August 23rd, 2010 at 9:23 am.-= chassie´s last blog ..friday night tacos- round 2 =-.
Beautiful…
August 23rd, 2010 at 9:54 am.-= Donata´s last blog ..Salmon Spread with Capers another summer dip idea aka- What to do with all that leftover salmon! =-.
I’m glad all of us PNW gardeners are in the green tomato patch together. We’ve eaten a reasonable number of Golden Nugget yellow cherry tomatoes–a handful each day for a few weeks–and the Siletzes are just starting to ripen in earnest. But they’re huge! Don’t know how they’ll roast up. We’ve got a lot of them, so I may have to give it a try. The Romas….I feel like going out and singing ripening songs to them to help them along. We HAD big plans for canning this year, but it may be a pipe dream. I wonder if 2010 will become the legendary Year of the Green Tomato Relish here on the coast!
August 23rd, 2010 at 11:06 amQuick question! You mentioned that these freeze really well–can you elaborate on that? Should I just freeze them in a single layer and then put them into freezer bags? And then, when you’re ready to use them..what do you do exactly? I’m new at this. Thanks so much!
August 23rd, 2010 at 7:31 pmI started early in hoops and covers and was disappointed with just about a lug of assorted tomatoes. I realize now I should be grateful.
October 6th, 2010 at 7:02 amMmm, I love oven roasted tomatoes. Unfortunately tomatoes don’t do well in my foggy San Francisco backyard (I tried two cherry tomato plants but they keeled over). But, I found a 30-lb box of tomatoes at my farmers’ market so spent a weekend putting them up: canned tomatoes in water, tomato sauce, tomato jam and a whole slew of oven roasted tomatoes. Check it out here: http://togetherinfood.wordpress.com/2010/09/22/how-to-have-a-tomato-extravaganza-canned-jammed-sauced-toasty-recipe/
October 7th, 2010 at 8:27 am.-= Stephanie M @ Together In FOod´s last blog ..The Magic of Habit-Forming =-.