Slow Roasted Tomatoes

An embarrassment of riches.

That's the phrase I immediately thought when my mom handed me a heavy basket filled to the brim with perfectly ripe homegrown tomatoes.

Clearly, she was tired of canning.

"Can you use some tomatoes?" she asks. Never one to turn down produce, I accept the offer, expecting three, maybe four beefsteaks.

But no, she hands me this basket.


An embarassment of riches indeed.

I've been wanting to slow roast tomatoes all summer. The simple elegance, the pure goodness, the versatility - think of roasted tomatoes with pasta, perhaps pureeing a few into a quick soup with a dash of cream, maybe tossing one or two with some basil in a toasted mozzerella sandwich, using them as a garnish to pan-seared grouse ('tis grouse season, after all)...and of course, just slurping them up solo. Heck, I'm so thrilled by roasted tomatoes right now, maybe I can make a face mask out of them. Or mix them with salt for a body scrub.

Or not. That would be a tragic waste of a perfectly tasty 'mater.


Slow Roaster Tomatoes
Adapted from Orangette's book A Homemade Life, she uses romas in the original recipe, which makes sense since they're meatier/less juicy that beefsteaks and cherries, but I'm all for making due with what you have. Save the roasted tomato juice and toss it with some pasta or use it in a soup later in the week.

3-4 lbs tomatoes
Olive oil
Salt
Ground coriander (optional)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

Wash and dry tomatoes, trim away stem end, and cut in half (leave cherries whole, cut up big tomatoes into fourths). Place them on a large roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil (2-3 Tbls) and sprinkle with a couple pinches salt and coriander. Bake until the tomatoes crinkle at the edges and shrink to about half their original size, 4-6 hours. Remove from oven, cool to room temp, and store in the fridge for up to one week.