Slow-Roasted Tomatoes Are a Meat-Free Treat

I ran across this recipe for slow-roasted tomatoes in Molly Wizenberg's book, A Homemade Life (my new favorite cookbook), and immediately wondered why I had never tried this before. Slow roasting tomatoes in a low-heat oven for four to six hours releases the fruit's sugars and results in a tomato-based creation that is far superior to any stove-top version. After I made this recipe for the first time, it quickly became a hit in our house once my 15-year-old daughter proclaimed, "Mom, this is better than Olive Garden!" We tend to use the slow-roasted tomatoes primarily in two ways: first as a spread, with a sprinkling of Parmesean cheese, for garlic bread, saltine crackers or sandwiches and secondly as the base for a pasta sauce. The roasted tomatoes may be tossed straight from the oven with any pasta or added to sauteed onions, garlic and red wine to create richer sauce. Either way, it's delicious. When we make this, although we tend to toss it with pasta (this has become our standard meat-free Fridays during Lent meal), my daughter and I can make a whole meal of roasted tomatoes spread generously onto Costco's garlic bread (the best garlic bread I can find). Combined with a spinach salad it's the perfect light meal.

The recipe is super easy, but it takes time and patience, so plan accordingly and be assured, this succulent treat is well-worth the wait. And while the tomatoes are roasting, they fill the house with a mouth-watering aroma. While the recipe calls for Roma tomatoes, I use sweet cherry tomatoes, combining the red and golden varieties because I love the visual aspect of the yellow tomatoes mixed with the red, sprinkled with the greeness from the oregeno (see picture). I also prefer the sweetness and versatility of the cherry tomatoes. To counter the sweetness a bit, I roast the tomatoes with diced onion, garlic and oregeno.

Below is a word-for-word excerpt from Wizenberg's book, A Homemade Life:

3 1/2 pounds ripe Roma tomatoes (about 20 tomatoes)
1 tablespoon
olive oil
salt
ground
coriander

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Wash and dry the tomatoes, trim, away the stem end, and halve them lengthwise. Place them in a large bowl, and, using your hands, toss them gently with oil. Arrange them cup side up on a large baking sheet. Sparkle with salt and ground corriander, about a pinch of each and every 4 to 6 tomatoe halves. Bake until the tomatoes crinkle at the edges and shrink to about half of their original size, 4 to 6 hours. They should still be juicy in their centers. Remove from the oven, and set aside to cool to room temperature. Put them in an airtight container, and store them in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Sources

Wizenberg, Molly. A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table. New York: Simon & Shuster, 2009