Oven Roasted Tomatoes

As the Summer harvest slows down, its not uncommon for me to end up with an awkward amount of tomatoes left over. There aren't enough to be worth pulling out the caner, but too many to make one dinner of pasta sauce. Normally this is the time I'd whip up a batch of salsa with the last of the tomatoes, onions and peppers. Salsa and sauce are the two big uses we have for tomatoes in my house because Jeff won't eat them raw, but this week I also wasn't planning any Mexican food to pair the salsa with. After being taunted by them for several days with no inspiration of what I was going to make out, I stumbled upon this post on The Hungry Tigress.

I had seen oven roasted tomatoes on other blogs before, but had never quite gotten around to giving them a try. I figured they'd be a hit around here because they are often compared in flavor and use to sun dried tomatoes, and Jeff is definitely a fan of those.

I am now happy to have a new option when it comes to using up my tomatoes. I actually wish I had tried it earlier in the season when I had more on hand. I only have one jar in the freezer now, but there are still a few late tomatoes hanging on the vines outside. As soon as they ripen, I think I know just what to do with them.

 

I forgot my oregano so it had to go on top. Learn from my mistake.


Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

20-30 small tomatoes
8 cloves of garlic
1 large sprig of rosemary
2-3 tbsp. of oregano and thyme
3-4 tbsp. sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

1) Cut the garlic into thick slices. Don't cut it too thin, you'll want it to be able to hold up to a long time in the oven.

2) Roughly chop or tear up the herbs. Sprinkle the garlic and herbs in your baking dish(es).

3) Cut tomatoes in half and place cut side up on top of your herbs and garlic. Sprinkle with sugar and pour a liberal amount of olive oil over them.

4) Put the tomatoes in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature of 325. Bake for two hours.

To store the roasted tomatoes you can add some more olive oil to them after cooking and store in the fridge for a week, or you can freeze them for later use.

This recipe is very versatile and you can jazz it up with whatever seasonings suit your taste. I think some red pepper flakes could make a nice addition.