Kitchen Gardeners International: Roasting late season tomatoes
By Barbara Damrosch
It's November, and the tomatoes refuse to go away. Even after a few mild nips of frost, some vines in protected locations have soldiered on.
I'm convinced that the best way to treat late tomatoes is to roast them. Roasting concentrates the flavor and sweetness so intensely that you'd never know you had started with a has-been crop. It works best with the paste types and is extremely easy to do. Just slice off a bit of the stem end of each tomato and cut what remains in half lengthwise. Smear a baking sheet with olive oil and spread the tomatoes out on it, cut side up. Drizzle them with more olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and fresh or dried herbs.
I've tried slow-roasting them all day at 200 degrees with great success, but usually I set the oven to 325 and leave them in for an hour or two, checking often so they don't burn. If they're large, they'll take more time. If I want them very juicy, they'll take less. Sometimes after roasting tomatoes, I puree them and turn them into soup. Other times I serve them on top of polenta, pasta or a green salad. I keep some around at room temperature and snack on them. They seem to have dozens of uses, any one of them a dignified finale for this most luscious of crops.
At this time of year, I roast tomatoes almost every day and will continue to do so until the last are gone and their season is over. Finally.
To read the full article at washingtonpost.com including Barbara's recommendations for tasty late-season tomato varieties, see here
Some roasted tomato recipes wirth exploring:
ROASTED TOMATO AND HERB TART
PEARL COUSCOUS WITH OLIVES AND ROASTED TOMATOES
ROASTED TOMATO AND RED BELL PEPPER SOUP
Photo courtesy of hddod
Posted by KGI on November 12, 2006 7:42 AM to Kitchen Gardeners International
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