In anticipation of a bumper crop of tomatoes this season I’ve started searching for tomato recipes and experimenting. Wouldn’t want the harvest to get ahead of me (so far I have 2 small green tomatoes in the back yard and 1 medium sized green tomato in the front yard….). Coincidentally and with remarkable timing, my friend Adrian Newell, owner of the store called “Solo” and who is a big part of Warwicks Book store in La Jolla, CA (Warwicks.com) sent me The Tuscan Sun – a beautiful Italian cookbook by Frances and Edward Mayes. I’m in the process of reading it cover to cover – enjoying it enormously. I stopped on page 43 to read “Roasted Tomatoes” which sounded delicious and I had to make them right then. Fortunately I had 2 baskets of cherry tomatoes on my counter so I didn’t even need to go to the grocery store.
Simple, basic, awesomely delicious and versatile. I am making them alot now during tomato season.
Roasted Tomatoes (From The Tuscan Sun Cookbook)
Ingredients:
2 baskets of cherry tomatoes (about 60) (or 25 medium tomatoes, quartered or 3 28-ounce cans plum tomatoes, drained and cut into quarters – according to the book but I haven’t tried these)
½ c extra virgin olive oil
3 T each of the following: minced fresh rosemary; fresh thyme leaves; fresh oregano leaves
5 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
prepared bruschetta or crostini
Arrange the tomatoes cut side up on a parchment lined 12×16” sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over them, scatter the herbs and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 2 hours, turning the tomatoes once. These would also be delicious with some chipotle pepper flakes tossed on/in.
Coarsely chop the tomatoes for bruschetta/crostini, or press a tomato onto each one. You can also use this as a topping for Pasta or a filling for an omelet. The possibilities are endless. Leftovers can be packed into jars, topped with olive oil and stored for a while. Or, like my son, you could eat them all out of the container that they’re packed in.
