Roasted Tomatoes with Garlic

I roast a lot of veggies but never a tomato.. These look delish. I can almost taste them mixed with some pasta n grated cheese.

Thank You for posting ..

annie

These are delicious. I made some last year and used them in salads and sandwiches, especially italian subs! They kept well pre-wrapped in saran then freezer bags to avoid any air-pockets and nasty freezer-burn. I'm overflowing with garden tomatoes now, for several weeks and the fastest method I found is to grind up them, skin and all, and freeze, for sauces, soups, and chilies later. If some look very seedy I'll give a little squeeze before popping into the blender. Also, when time allows others get the royal treatment: a quick dip in boiling water to remove the skin before cooking up with garlic and herbs. It doesn't take much longer to put a pot on a low simmer for 45 mins then let cool before freezing. Often I'll put the cooled pot in the fridge 'til morning when I'm more in the mood to deal with storing. Before I had this garden I would buy heavily discounted baskets of veiny, spotted, misshapen tomatoes from a farmer nearby which is so much easier, with just as delicious results! Love the aroma of tomatoes and garlic! Thank you Lisa for all your ideas and more!

BarbL

Do the tomatoes lose their shape when you lift them off the tray? If you freeze them do they become more limp or watery when defrosted? I am trying to understand how to plan to use them. Will they only be suitable for sauces or are they dry enough to put on a sandwich? They sound delicious.

Vivian

I've been doing something very similar for years.

Layer a large cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper for easier clean up. Cut tomatoes in half (Romas are the best!) Put single layer of tomatoes, garlic (I leave in skins then squeeze out after roasting) large chunks of onion, sprigs or leaves of fresh basil, salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil over all

The oven temperature depends on how much time I have, but the norm is 350 for 45 minutes or so -- I just watch to make sure the garlic and basil don't char.

Squeeze out garlic "meat" discarding the papery skins and then everything (including tomato skins) goes in food processor to blend until smooth -- which is now the most delicious tomato/spaghetti sauce! I'm always amazed at the compliments of "best ever" I get when I share the sauce.

Package the sauce in quart size freezer bags (I put 2 cups in each one) date, and (if possible) stack flat in the freezer until you need the sauce for pasta, polenta, spiralized zucchini, pizza sauce or whatever. When you reheat, you can add other spices to your taste (Italian Seasoning, bay leaf, or??)

Judi

I just put a cookie sheet of Roma's in the oven...thank you for the recipe! I've been handing out my Roma's to neighbors for weeks because I couldn't keep up with those flourishing plants...will do this next year as well!! :)

Clarissa

I just made these and can answer some of the questions I posed above. The tomatoes are quite portable when you lift them off the tray. I used my cake server and they held their shape quite well - probably because each piece is a half of a tomato and I used fairly large tomatoes. We used some as a side dish. I plan to cut some to add to my green salad this evening. I think they would taste great on a sandwich but they are quite thick. I would suggest if you would like to add a slice to a sandwich much as you would a roasted pepper the to slice the tomatoes into quarters (4 round slices) and bake them for a shorter time. They are not dry but they are not any moister than a regular tomato and they would add a completely different flavor to a sandwich.

Vivian

We grow tomatoes and I love roasting them. It really brings out the flavor. I put some ground pepper on top as well. Delicious!

Sarah

That sounds interesting. I think this recipe is worth to try. Thanks for sharing it!

Jake Tyler