Roasted Tomatoes

Do you recognize those guys in that lineup above? You should. We've all seen them before...and they are guilty! Guilty of having no taste at all! Off-season tomatoes...sigh.

I may be a bit spoiled, living in New Jersey, the Garden State. Our summer vegetables, most especially our tomatoes, are unbelievably good. Summer "Jersey" tomatoes are deep red, meaty, juicy and very sweet and flavorful. So delicious, you could eat one with nothing else at all and be satisfied. Once the season has past, my heart breaks each time I have to buy a tomato from the grocery store. I used to just pass them by. They just were not worth it. Until now.

I've been slow roasting tomatoes in the oven. If you've noticed in some of my recipes, I love to use sun dried tomatoes a lot. These have the same concentrated rich flavor, but they are a bit more moist.  Once roasted, you would never, ever believe that they are the same tomatoes that went into the oven. You can do a lot with them. They are delicious in salads, sandwiches, served with cheeses, pasta, sauces, anywhere you might think to use sun dried tomatoes. And this could not be easier...I mean, it's hardly even a recipe!

Once cut, you can even see how pale and tasteless they look!

Roasted Tomatoes

about 1 - 1 1/2lb. tomatoes (I've used plum and vine tomatoes, but any tomato will work)

about 1 - 2 T. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Slice tomatoes into halves. Cut out the woody core. Place the tomatoes on a parchment lined baking sheet and rub them all down with olive oil. Sprinkle with just a tiny bit of salt and pepper.

Place them in the oven on the center rack and roast at 275 degrees for 2 to 3 hours, depending on the size of your tomatoes.

Once they are just about done to your liking, shut the oven off, but keep the tomatoes in until the oven cools down. Pull the tray out and continue cooling completely on the counter. 

I store my tomatoes drizzled with a bit of extra virgin olive oil in a container in the fridge. They keep for about a week to 10 days.

Notes:

• Don't overdo the salt and pepper. You just want a tiny sprinkle. 
• Since I've got the oven running, I try to also roast heads of garlic at the same time. The roasted garlic becomes sweet, buttery, mellow and delicious!  Just cut the top off of the head of garlic, put it into a piece of foil and drizzle some olive oil over it. Close the foil up around it and roast until soft!  
• After about an hour in the oven...your house will smell amazing!