Like caramelised onions, roasted tomatoes are another example of taking an already delicious fruit or veggie, adding a bit of heat and a couple of ingredients and catapulting the flavor out into the stratosphere.
You can actually roast tomatoes in a variety of ways. You can simply toss with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, perhaps garlic, and roast at 425˚F, give or take 25˚F, for about half an hour. This will intensify the flavour and the tomatoes will be delicious.
But my favorite way is to use grape tomatoes and roast them low and slow, which dries them out and concentrates the flavour even more.
Simply slice them in half and place them on a sheet tray lined with a silpat mat or parchment or non stick foil….something, because the sugars will turn to glue and cement the tomatoes to the tray if you don’t.
At this point you can sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and call it a day, or you can go crazy and do what I do – mix up a delicious little concoction of brown sugar and a variety of chopped herbs along with the salt and pepper. A tablespoon or so of sugar is generally enough (I use brown but white also works) and rosemary, thyme and sage are generally my herbs of choice, but anything goes.
Mix it, sprinkle it over the tomatoes and pop them into a 175˚F oven where they will stay for a couple of hours.
There are no hard and fast rules, however. While long and slow is the general idea, there have been plenty of occasions where I am short on time and will turn up the oven and cook for less time. The flavour may be a little less concentrated and the moisture level a bit higher, but they will still taste great. Generally though, I like mine on the drier side so that when I use them in recipes they’re like intense little flavour bombs exploding in my mouth. Delicious!
Also, if you want to slow roast a bigger tomato, I find that it helps to fish out the seeds and juice so that they can dry out more easily. Bigger tomatoes will also require a bit more cooking time, closer to three hours, and a slightly higher oven temperature, 200-225˚F, helps as well. Play around, ’cause no matter what you do, those tomatoes are going to be delicious.
