Roasting tomatoes

[hazardnc]

I have a counter covered in my local harvest of tomatoes. Thank God I only planted three tomato plants versus my usual six this year!

We have made tomato pie, panzanella, loads of tomato sandwiches and canned our own salsa. Now I have two sheet pans, with slices of the ugliest tomatoes, in the oven for a long slow roast.

There will be more tomatoes than we can eat tonight and I really want to save some for the dreary winter ahead. I think adding these to homemade veggie soup sounds good. I can use them to top pizzas.

I need suggestions for saving them and more ideas for using them.

[maryeats]

I have a counter covered in my local harvest of tomatoes.  Thank God I only planted three tomato plants versus my usual six this year! 

We have made tomato pie, panzanella, loads of tomato sandwiches and canned our own salsa.  Now I have two sheet pans, with slices of the ugliest tomatoes, in the oven for a long slow roast.

There will be more tomatoes than we can eat tonight and I really want to save some for the dreary winter ahead.  I think adding these to homemade veggie soup sounds good.  I can use them to top pizzas. 

I need suggestions for saving them and more ideas for using them.

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I like slow roasted tomatoes in salads, or to snack on their own.

I bet you could make a few snazzy canapés replacing the roasted tomatoes for cherry tomatoes. Something with goat cheese?

[alanamoana]

I have a counter covered in my local harvest of tomatoes.  Thank God I only planted three tomato plants versus my usual six this year! 

We have made tomato pie, panzanella, loads of tomato sandwiches and canned our own salsa.  Now I have two sheet pans, with slices of the ugliest tomatoes, in the oven for a long slow roast.

There will be more tomatoes than we can eat tonight and I really want to save some for the dreary winter ahead.  I think adding these to homemade veggie soup sounds good.  I can use them to top pizzas. 

I need suggestions for saving them and more ideas for using them.

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maybe pack them in olive oil? then freeze them? the oil will pick up a lot of great flavor from the tomatoes and herbs or garlic that you seasoned with and would be great as a dip for bread as well...

[Lori in PA]

I have the best results with freezing my slow-roasted tomatoes. I usually just cut them in half before roasting and drizzle with olive oil. I often add cloves of garlic, too. I'm about to use the last of the freezer tomatoes in a "sun-dried" tomato dip for a friend's wedding this weekend. Then I'll be ready to start this year's bounty.

[tino27]

I make a roasted tomato spread that you can use simply as a dip for toasted bread. I also use it instead of pizza sauce to make pita pizzas that I can throw into my toaster oven. Yummy snack!

It's quite simply really, once you have the oven roasted tomatoes. In a food processor, put the tomatoes, a clove or two of raw garlic, fresh basil, grated Parmesan cheese, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper. Whiz until it is broken down but still has a little texture. It's AMAZING how oven roasting tomatoes really brings out their tomato-ey goodness!!

[hazardnc]

I make a roasted tomato spread that you can use simply as a dip for toasted bread. I also use it instead of pizza sauce to make pita pizzas that I can throw into my toaster oven. Yummy snack! 

It's quite simply really, once you have the oven roasted tomatoes. In a food processor, put the tomatoes, a clove or two of raw garlic, fresh basil, grated Parmesan cheese, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper. Whiz until it is broken down but still has a little texture. It's AMAZING how oven roasting tomatoes really brings out their tomato-ey goodness!!

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That sounds yummy! I think I will give that a try.

[Jake]

I use roasted tomatos in composed salads, salsas etc. For a quick and easy lunch/hors d'eouvre take some puff pastry (storebought is okay, too) and roll out. Spread with good dijon mustard then a layer of goat cheese. Place the roasted tomatos on the sheet, sprinkle with fresh thyme and/or basil and some parmigiana reggiano. Bake until pastry is puffed, slice into squares and serve warm.

[Marlene]

I use roasted tomatos in composed salads, salsas etc.  For a quick and easy lunch/hors d'eouvre take some puff pastry (storebought is okay, too) and roll out.  Spread with good dijon mustard then a layer of goat cheese.  Place the roasted tomatos on the sheet, sprinkle with fresh thyme and/or basil and some parmigiana reggiano.  Bake until pastry is puffed, slice into squares and serve warm.

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I've had this, it's very very good. Grainy mustard works well and I might be tempted to try it with asiago cheese instead of goat cheese, but you'll like this however you make it.

[Luckylies]

Are tomatoes really cheap where you guys are? At 3.99 a pound here, there really is no room for thinking ahead

[hazardnc]

Are tomatoes really cheap where you guys are? At 3.99 a pound here, there really is no room for thinking ahead 

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Mine are from the garden. As it stands right now, I have about 25 on my kitchen counter But, yes, we have good cheap tomatoes at our farmer's market now too. They run about $1.99 pound right now. Aren't the tomatoes coming in fast and furious up there now?

[KatieLoeb]

Howzabout some Roasted Tomato Soup, served with a crostini with Pesto on top? Heat in some vegetable or chicken broth until softened and then whiz through food processor or blender. Strain if you want to remove bits of skin or seeds.

Also great for last minute buzzing in the blender to make pasta or pizza sauce.

[Soupcon]

Tomato season is upon us and I wish to preserve summer for use in the winter. How to? I have canned tomatoes before and will do so again this year but wish also to slow roast tomatoes for use at Christmas or in January next. Clue me in please.

[snowangel]

I did this last year -- I slow roasted tomatoes (halved, cut side up) in olive oil on a foil-lined sheet pan at 250 degrees until they seemed done. Cooled, and froze in containers, topping with some of the olive oil to prevent ice crystals. I made viniagarette with the leftover oil.

[Gabriel Lewis]

I would call this "oven drying" rather than slow roasting, but the process I use is fairly simple. First I blanch the tomatoes briefly and remove the skins. Then I cut them in half lengthwise and lay them in a lovw oven (225-250F), sprinkle them with a little minced garlic and thyme (optional), and drizzle them with a fair amount of olive oil. They're done when they've dehydrated in taste substantially, and intensified in flavor.

[Lapin d'Argent]

Even simpler, I just slice them in half lengthwise (stem end to blossom end), place them cut side up on a foil-covered cookie sheet in a slow oven until they are nice and jam-like. (Or you can use a large pryrex or corningware baking dish, if you have one or two of those, since they are easy to clean up.) Then I peel the tomatoes off onto a fresh cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, which goes into the freezer. (One or two always seem to get into the chef instead of the freezer.) Once they've solidified, they get transferred to a labelled zip-lock bag.

The oven temperature depends on the size the of the tomatoes, how long I have, my patience, etc. Every year it seems I have to remember the best setting all over again. Lower is better; you don't want them to brown. Maybe 225 - 250.

I grow Enchantment tomatoes for this very purpose, and if I have a big enough crop, enjoy them during the fall and winter on pizzas. Enchantments are a so-called "salad tomato", plum-shaped, with really good flavor cooked or fresh. Other small plum or round tomatoes will also work.

I've used this technique with cherry tomatoes as well, but don't slice those, and use a really low heat -- my 1963 Westinghouse wall oven goes down to 140F, and that works well.

A freezer full of tomatoes and a pantry full of garlic really keeps the worst of winter at bay.

- L.

[Dave Hatfield]

I did a bit of research on oven drying tomatoes then tried doing them with pretty good results.

I've written it all up on my blog. Link below.

[zoe b]

last month I did this with the giant crop of cherry tomatoes--I tried slow roast and hot roast--I found I liked the hotter temp better--I think I did 410f and 220f.

The slow roast made them give up an awful lot of juice--the higher temp resulted in a more caramelised tomato with a tiny bit of thick juice.

Z

[Abra]

Contrary to other techniques described here, I roast them cut side down with a ton of basil and garlic. I have to admit that they've never lasted long enough to freeze, but I see no reason why they wouldn't do fine. The recipe is here. These are totally tomato crack.

[DaleJ]

With this year's bumper crop in my wife's garden we used a recipe from Scott Conant's book (forgot the name of the book).

Cut Romas polarly, squeeze out seeds, flip in a tb of olive oil, spread in a sheet pan (cut side down) dust with S & P and a tb of oregano, rosemary and sugar and roast at 300F for three hours. We let them cool and put them in freezer bags before freezing.

Pretty damn tasty on pasta, too.

[Lilija]

I am completely jealous of you people and your tomatoes coming up so fast. I'm staring at about a hundred green tomatoes, heavy on the vine, making my poor tomato cages bend and tilt, as I type this.

I cannot wait to have some fresh tomatoes roasted, I've been craving them so badly, I don't think any are going to make it to the freezer. I have big plans. Big plans!

[Abra]

I'll add that I've tried roasting non-Romas and you do lose a lot of juice. For my money it's better to use regular and cherry tomatoes in a salsa or some fresh application.

[chileheadmike]

With this year's bumper crop in my wife's garden we used a recipe from Scott Conant's book (forgot the name of the book).

Cut Romas polarly, squeeze out seeds, flip in a tb of olive oil, spread in a sheet pan (cut side down) dust with S & P and a tb of oregano, rosemary and sugar and roast at 300F for three hours.  We let them cool and put them in freezer bags before freezing.

Pretty damn tasty on pasta, too.

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Mine are about as far along as yours. Lots and lots of green tomatoes. Brandywine, Beefsteak, Roma, and Rutgers. Plus a couple volunteers from last year. No idea what those will be. All green.

[Shel_B]

Over the years I have encountered many techniques for roasting tomatoes, some using very low temperatures and long roasting times, others using higher temps and shorter times. Some recommend salting and seasoning, some suggest coating the tomatoes with olive oil, and some suggest just roasting the tomatoes plain. FWIW, I usually roast at lower temps and coat the tomatoes with EVOO.

What I've not fully grasped is what the different techniques yield - so, which technique do you use and, most important, why? Is there a technique that give a deeper, richer flavor than the others?

Shel

[djyee100]

I stumbled across this method for roasting tomatoes when I made the Roasted Tomato Sauce in Alice Waters' Pasta Pizza & Calzone cookbook. I've always been happy with it, & I've never experimented beyond a few small touches of my own. The recipe: Core tomatoes, rub with olive oil, season with S&P. Roast in preheated 425 F oven for about 30 mins. The tomato skins will blister and brown; the tomatoes taste caramelized. This method is especially good for intensifying the flavor of blah winter tomatoes.

[Jmahl]

I stumbled across this method for roasting tomatoes when I made the Roasted Tomato Sauce in Alice Waters' Pasta Pizza & Calzone cookbook. I've always been happy with it, & I've never experimented beyond a few small touches of my own. The recipe: Core tomatoes, rub with olive oil, season with S&P. Roast in preheated 425 F oven for about 30 mins. The tomato skins will blister and brown; the tomatoes taste caramelized. This method is especially good for intensifying the flavor of blah winter tomatoes.

Sounds fantastic - going to give it a try. Thanks.