I thought I had posted a recipe on how I roasted tomatoes for future usage, but I have not! This recipe was inspired by The Homemade Pantry, by Alana Chernila—about the guilt of letting surplus tomatoes sit too long on the counter. I know that sad feeling when I notice the impending squishiness and mold. Here, just cut away the icky bits, and toss in the oven. More or less.
I’ve used tomatoes like Stupice, Early Girl, and San Marzano, which usually only need to be sliced in half. But I’ve also used cherry tomatoes (Sungold, FTW!), which I kept whole but poked a couple holes—and some extra beefsteak-type ones (Cosmonaut Volkov) which would’ve otherwise been…neglected, in 1/2ish-inch slices. 😉
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 pounds tomatoes
- flaked salt, such smoked Maldon or Kosher
- extra-virgin olive oil; optionally flavored, such as garlic olive oil
Method
- Preheat oven to 275ºF degrees; I used the “convection roast” setting. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet (jelly roll pan) with parchment paper.
- Wash the tomatoes; remove and discard their stems.
- Cut tomatoes in half, remove any thick core or rotted bits (e.g., blossom-end rot, the scurge of Early Girls and any paste tomatoes from our garden).
- Place tomatoes cut side up on the pan. Sprinkle with a bit of salt, then drizzle lightly with olive oil.
- Roast in oven for 90 to 110 minutes, rotating pan midway through cooking. The tomatoes are ready when they’ve shrunk to roughly half their original size, along with a bit of crisping and browning.
- Turn off oven, leave the pan inside until cool to the touch, about 2 hours. (But I’ve also left the pan in the oven overnight.)
- Place in freezer-safe containers; I’ve used zippy bags and plastic tubs. The tomatoes sometimes end up a bit goopier than tomatoes from a can, so would be best in soups, stews, or sauces/salsas. Yield is roughly 1 1/2 pounds, but YMMV.
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