SLOW ROASTED TOMATOES

If you are anything like me, you find yourself drooling over the huge piles of late summer produce at the market. I am scarfing down peaches, tomatoes, and pluots like they are going out of style. I guess that is the point... these delights of summer are not gonna to be around for long. So let's talk more about preserving. We made pickles last go around, now it's time for preserving tomatoes!

I love the rich, sweetness of an oven-roasted tomato. And I am particularly drawn to the caramelized taste of this slow roasted version. I hope you like it too!




INGREDIENTS
(printable recipe)

• 2 pounds fresh tomatoes (I am addicted to Dry Farmed Early Girls - they may not look fancy, but the flavor is unbeatable in my opinion)
• olive oil
• sea salt
• optional: 1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees (or the lowest setting). Slice small tomatoes in half and spread them out over a metal baking sheet. (If you are using big heirlooms, cut them into quarters or even eighths.) Lightly drizzle olive oil over the tops of the tomatoes. Sprinkle generously with sea salt. And I like to sprinkle on a bit of sugar too, just to add to that caramely goodness.

Check your tomatoes after a couple of hours and see what you think. I have read about people cooking tomatoes in this fashion and leaving them in the 200-250 degree oven for anywhere from 1.5 to 6 hours. I found that they are just right for me after about 3 hours.

You can go ahead and eat the roasted tomatoes right away - they are hard to resist. But if you want to keep a taste of summer for a cold autumn day, place the roasted tomatoes in a jar, cover them with olive oil and keep in the fridge until later.

Enjoy!