Okay, I know some folks will take one look at this post and sigh…tomatoes in February, Kathy?? Yes, I know summer is typically tomato season in most places, but Roma tomatoes are actually available year-round (at least here in San Diego). I can’t help it if I have a craving for Slow-Roasted Tomatoes on panini (and pasta and pizza) in the middle of winter. I’ll tell you one benefit to making these now versus in the summer – now seems like a much nicer time of year to entertain the idea of having the oven on for several hours!
And it did not bother me in the least that the large Romas I bought took an extra hour to shrivel down and concentrate their sweet-herby-garlicky flavors. As with almost anything you roast slowly in the oven, it filled the house with the most inviting aromas…as if I had a big pot of marinara simmering all morning.
When they were all done I packed them in a tupperware with a little extra olive oil and I’ve been pulling a few out every few days. You’ll see my Roasted Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella and Basil Panini later this week. I’ll also be adding them to the weekly pizza we have at our house. If there are any left over by the time we get to spaghetti night on Friday, I have a feeling some roasted tomatoes will be making an appearance there as well. 🙂
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Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
From Smitten Kitchen
Cherry, grape or small Roma tomatoes
Whole gloves of garlic, unpeeled
Olive oil
Herbs such as thyme or rosemary (optional)
Preheat oven to 225°F. Halve each cherry or grape tomato crosswise, or Roma tomato lengthwise and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet along with the cloves of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, just enough to make the tomatoes glisten. Sprinkle herbs on, if you are using them, and salt and pepper, though go easily on these because the finished product will be so flavorful you’ll need very little to help it along.
Bake the tomatoes in the oven for about three hours. You want the tomatoes to be shriveled and dry, but with a little juice left inside–this could take more or less time depending on the size of your tomatoes.
Either use them right away or let them cool, cover them with some extra olive oil and keep them in the fridge for the best summer condiment, ever. And for snacking.
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Love. Slow. Roasted. Tomatoes. And actually just made a panini for lunch yesterday with turkey, pepper jack cheese, mayo/pesto spread….and these red beauties. It was glorious. (For the record, I also love CA. We are very charmed, no?)
recipe does not indicate how to use the garlic…???
Many Thanks
Yeahhhh…I noticed that too. I just ate the roasted garlic along with the tomatoes. 🙂 Some people also like to mince the garlic and sprinkle it on top of the tomatoes before roasting, that’s another option.
I’ve been growing tomatoes for years and never tried a slow roasted recipe! Looks way too good and I’ll bet done with fresh from the garden tomatoes, ooooh ~ how much better does it get? Thanks for the recipe and mouth watering pictures!
cant ever get enough of roasted tomatoes. Any season. This is perfection!
I can’t wait for summer to make a huge batch of these with the most flavorful tomatoes I can get my hands on.
I’ve been making these for a number of years. Roma tomatoes take anywhere from 8 to 12 hours. They are delicious!
Yummy recipe! We’re featuring side dishes this week at the M&T Spotlight and I’d love for you to submit this. http://www.makeandtakes.com/spotlight
These are like tomato candy! I love adding them to pasta, sandwiches, omelets — you name it. Actually, I can just eat them by the spoonful, too.
That looks so good! Do you recommend using dried or fresh herbs?
I used dried herbs but imagine you could go either way.