Roasted Tomatoes, The Low And Slow Way

I've already mentioned in a previous post the sort of revival camp fervor that Fuppies lavish on August fruits and vegetables.

Well, the tomato in particular enjoys a status above all of its late summer brethren (zucchini, peaches, squash blossoms, corn, etc) in the minds of Fuppies, eliciting a level of zeal and devotion usually reserved for ones family, best friends, and favorite brand of vodka. Especially heirloom tomatoes. If the Fuppies had a flag, it would be Alice Waters and Dan Barber cradling a bushel of heirloom tomatoes in their arms.

I poke fun, but there's something to all this enthusiasm over the arrival of the local tomato. Here's why:

1. Good tomatoes are undeniably delicious. They are bright and vegetal when fresh, deeply savory when cooked, and versatile enough to be at home in everything from pasta sauces to a BLT.

2. When local tomatoes are out of season the tomatoes that you get at the supermarket mostly come from Florida (year-round) and California (spring/summer). Because the fruit bruises so easily when ripe, they are picked unripe and later ripened using Ethelyn gas. This process, and all the changes in temperature that occur as they travel from the field to your kitchen, is why off-season tomatoes are so often mealy and insipid.

3. Tomato farming in Florida (and to a lesser extent California) is infamous for its exploitation of immigrant workers, many of whom exist in a state of wage slavery and live and work in inhumane conditions.

So, if you care about things like great tomato texture and human rights, and certainly if you are a Fuppie, you really should only eat tomatoes when you can get them locally, which means 4-6 weeks per year. Thus the fanaticism during that brief period when the good stuff is available.

Since there's a limit to how many fresh tomatoes even the most devoted tomato lover can eat in the form of salad, sandwiches, and the like, I strongly suggest roasting them. Slow roasted tomatoes are unbelievably versatile. Just a few of their many uses:

-Chopped up and included in sauces and vegetable sautes
-Mixed into risotto
-Pureed with tomato juice, oil, and vinegar for a vinaigrette
-As a pizza topping
-Seasoned and dressed with olive oil as an antipasto

There are two different approaches to the tomato roasting process: cooking them at a high temperature for under an hour, or at a low temperature for a much longer period of time. I'm a fan of the latter, as I find that the tomatoes roast more evenly, without drying out too much or acquiring a burnt flavor.



The slow roasting process takes 4 or so hours from start to finish but only around 20 minutes of active time. That makes it the perfect activity for when you're puttering around the house on a rainy August Sunday, as I was this past weekend. I spent Sunday afternoon plowing through laundry, grumbling along with The Viking about the deteriorating quality of The New York Times, and periodically tending to my roasting tomatoes. It was a septuagenarian sort of day.

Roasted tomatoes will last for 1-2 weeks in the fridge and up six months in the freezer, making it possible to extend your fresh tomato supply clear through winter. If I were a person who knew how to can things, I would also tell you how to can them. But I'm not. Maybe next year.

After roasting ten tomatoes on Sunday, I chopped up a few of them and included them in the filling for a vegetable lasagna (complete with homemade pasta, Italian grandma style). The result was pure summer comfort food, light but satisfying.



Slow Roasted Tomatoes
Adapted from Think Like A Chef

10 Roma tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 head of garlic, separated into unpeeled cloves
5 sprigs thyme
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut tomatoes in half latitudinally, place in large bowl along with garlic, olive oil, thyme, and seasoning, and mix gently.
3. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and place the tomato halves on the baking sheet, cut-side down. Pour contents of the bowl over them, distributing thyme and garlic evenly.
4. Bake for 20 minutes (until skins loosen) and then remove and discard skins. Pour any juices that have accumulated into a bowl and reserve.
5. Return the tomatoes to the oven and reduce the temperature to 275 degrees, periodically pouring off and reserving the juices.
6. After about 3 hours, remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow them to cool on their baking sheet.
7. Put garlic, tomatoes, and juice in separate containers and store.