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.

When I was a kid we had this book called Be Nice To Spiders. I always think of it at this time of year because big tan and brown spiders spin their webs all over our garden. We find them in the tomato plants, strung across pathways and on the chicken coop. We spotted this web on our deck near the hop vine. It looked lovely in the evening sunlight, so I decided to take a picture. Right after I snapped this shot the spider sprung up and snagged a fly. She spun the fly into a mummy and then crawled back down into place. I guess she plans on saving her dinner for later!

Today’s post comes from the files of too cute to handle. This weekend while I was cooking dinner our dog, Domino, was bugging me to play. I told him to go outside and get his favorite toy, a squeaky stuffed bumblebee. Apparently he couldn’t find the bee, but he decided that this overripe cucumber was even better. He ran up on to the porch with it, very proud of his discovery. He then proceeded to run around with the cucumber in fast circles in the yard and then plop down and gnaw on it.

Animals are an integral  (if sometimes frustrating) addition to my garden and Domino’s antics made me think it would be fun to do a whole post on pets in the garden. So if you have a cute shot of your dog, or kitty, or bunny, or chicken, or goldfish in the garden, send it to me at info@digginfood.com by Friday!