Roasted Tomatoes

Roasted Tomatoes

I believe there is nothing more special than roasted tomatoes. Certainly, there is no easier way to cook them.

Gather up all your ripe tomatoes, grape, pear, cherry, italian, slicers. Even your yellows. Cut them in half or quarters if large and place them in a shallow baking pan. Dust with your favorite herbs...rosemary, thyme, oregano. Salt and pepper to taste. Use fresh ground pepper if you can. It tastes better.

Finely chop garlic cloves to your taste. If you're making a large batch, you may even want to chop a whole head. If you plan to process these tomatoes, you can roast the garlic as well. Simply toss the cloves into the pan with their paper attached. Squeeze the roasted garlic from their paper shells before you process the tomatoes in the blender or food processor.

Coat your tomatoes with a liberal drizzle of good olive oil, toss and pop in to the oven set at 325F. Toss with a spatula a few times during the cooking process, especially if you've quartered them. Tomatoes are done when lightly brown on the edges and wrinkled.

Uses: Serve atop toasted French bread with cheese as a first course. Stuff a meatloaf for a grand surprise in the middle. Toss with pasta for a different kind of sauce. You are limited only by culinary imagination.

This recipe will freeze very well in a bag or container. You can also can it. A bit of lemon juice in the canning jar will assure a high level of acidity and safety to water processed canning. It will also add a freshness to the finished dish.

Happy Cooking!

Cheers, Mark