Easy Slow-Roasted Tomato Recipe
I really enjoy the last, lingering cool days of spring because it means I can still use my oven without making the kitchen intolerably hot. Roasting is my absolute favorite way to cook; to me it’s a simple, no-fuss way to throw a meal together. I roast practically every veg that comes through my kitchen until it’s just too hot to do so. Roasting vegetables caramelizes their sugars and intensifies their flavors—and, often improves them if you’ve got a less-than-optimal selection to choose from.
Take tomatoes, for example: unless you have a garden, good quality tomatoes are almost impossible to come by in the city even when they are in season. But you can turn unappetizingly pale, crunchy tomatoes into something worth eating if you toss them with a bit of olive oil and pop them in the oven.
If you’re short on time you can do a quick roast on high heat, but I recommend that at least once you take the time to leave them in the oven for an extended period. The results will be close to the flavor of sun-dried tomatoes but less intense and not as dry or chewy. Just how dry they come out depends on how long you leave them in the oven.
This recipe does require a time investment in that you need to be home (and awake!) as you slowly roast the tomatoes in the oven, but it is flexible in every other way. Use whatever variety of tomatoes you prefer and your favorite olive oil (mine happens to be picual). That’s all you really need; all the other ingredients listed are optional.
When I have fresh herbs I use them, but if you don't have them on hand you can use dried instead. Experiment with your favorite herbs, the tomatoes and olive oil will be infused with whatever flavors you add. This time I added some dried rosemary I had collected on a hike some time ago, but herbs I’ve added in the past include: sage, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, sliced garlic and fresh ground black pepper.
INGREDIENTS
- tomatoes
- olive oil
- herbs
- garlic
- pepper
- salt
METHOD
- Heat the oven to 100°C (200°F) on the fan setting (if you have it).
- Wash and then cut the tomatoes in half. I like to cut them end to end and then cut out the core, but if you don’t mind the core then you can leave it in.
- Place tomatoes cut side down in a pan and brush liberally with olive oil. They will shrink a lot in the cooking process so I like to use the largest roasting pan I can fit in my oven to roast as many as possible at once. Here I used two kilograms of ordinary salad tomatoes, but you can use any tomatoes you find. Keep in mind that less juicy tomatoes, like the Roma variety, will cook more quickly.
- Flip the tomatoes over so they are cut side up, brush with olive oil and, if using, sprinkle your herbs, pepper, garlic or salt on top. I like to add extra olive oil in the bottom of the pan as well to capture the flavor of the herbs I’m using, but it’s not an essential step.
- Pop the pan in the oven on the middle rack, set your timer for three hours and go do things.
- Check on the tomatoes after three hours. At this stage your tomatoes will start to look dry around the edges but they will still be very juicy (see the second photo above). You can take them out now, or leave them in for longer. I like my tomatoes drier with a sweeter, more intense flavor, so I usually leave mine in for about six hours, which will give you tomatoes that are still quite juicy with a slightly chewy texture around the edges. (I once left them in for nine hours, which resulted in a texture and flavor very much like sun-dried tomatoes.)
STORING
Let the tomatoes cool and then store in the fridge in an airtight container with all the oil and herbs you roasted them in. After slow roasting this batch for six hours, I can fit what was once two kilograms of tomatoes into a 500 ml jar! They will last up to a week in the fridge (if you hide them well) or you can freeze them.
USES
As they sit the dry edges will soften and they'll release some of their juices into the oil, which is lovely to add to salad or dip your bread in. These slow-roasted tomatoes make a great add-in for pasta, quiche, sandwiches and salads, or as a topping for bread.