277754 Mon May 02 11:25:59 -0700 2005 21 31 Home Cooking 0 1468516 Several years ago, Mark Bittman's column in the NYTimes included a recipe for roasted tomatoes, with garlic, thyme, olive oil and salt. I stuck it away for future reference. Yesterday I fished the recipe out of my files and roasted 3 dozen plum tomatoes, some of which will be used in a frittata, along with sauteed fingerling potatoes, onions, Parmesan and parsley, that I'm going to serve as part of a brunch for 12 on Saturday. (The recipe indicates that the roasted tomatoes can be refrigerated for up to a week in their juices.) I gotta tell you, these things are great and I can't wait until next week to use them! Since I made so much and I needed to fill out my brunch menu, I thought I might be able to use them in a pasta salad, too. I took a couple of tomato pieces and mushed them up a little in a bowl, added a little evoo, some salt and pepper and some dried basil (didn't have any fresh on hand), then tossed in some cooled boiled bowtie pasta. It was fabulous. It definitely goes on the brunch menu and, with a little planning, will include torn-up fresh basil and shredded fresh mozzarella and chives. The plum tomatoes are incredibly easy to prepare, although the prep is a little time-consuming. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Core 24 tomatoes at the stem end and then slice them in half, lengthwise. It's an option (which I took) to squeeze/scoop out the seeds and pulp - that's what took so long. Pour about 1/4 cup of evoo in the bottom of a non-stick baking sheet with sides that can accommodate all the tomato halves without crowding them. (I didn't have any non-stick baking sheets, so I used lined mine with that new "quick release" foil - that worked fine.) Anyway, put the tomatoes cut-side down on the sheet and distribute maybe 8 cloves of garlic (you don't have to peel them) and a few sprigs of fresh thyme among them. (Again, I couldn't find any at my local market, so I used dried thyme - it was good, but I'm sure fresh would be much better.) Drizzle another 1/4 cup of evoo over the tomatoes, sprinkle with a little salt, and roast them in the oven for 15 minutes. Then turn the sheet around so they'll roast evenly, and let them go for another 15 minutes. They'll end up looking sort of shriveled up and the skins will be a little blackened. Take them out and let them cool for a little while, then slip off the tomato skins (easy!) and the garlic skins. Store the tomatoes & garlic in a covered container, WITH the cooking liquids, for up to a week. Let me know what else you would do with these! I think I'm going to roast tomatoes every couple of weeks for the rest of my life! Mon May 02 11:25:59 -0700 2005 0 Deenso 1 1468519 did you use regular supermarket plum tomatoes for this? and how did they compare to good quality canned tomatoes? Mon May 02 11:50:05 -0700 2005 1468516 0 queue 2 1468525 Yes, I used regular plum tomatoes from my local supermarket. I think this recipe really calls for fresh tomatoes and would probably not work with canned, even "good quality." They're already peeled and I would think too soft to stand up to half an hour's roasting at 500 degrees. Mon May 02 12:54:08 -0700 2005 1468519 0 Deenso 3 1468544 the best thing about roasting tomatoes is that it converts even inedible pink tomatoes into luscious, complex essence of tomato goodness i've never done it with canned but I have done it with some of the worst tomatoes I've ever seen and it still turns out well Mon May 02 16:22:52 -0700 2005 1468525 0 melon 3 1468562 sorry for being unclear. i meant to ask: how did your roasted winter supermarket tomatoes compare to good quality canned tomatoes? e.g., if you were going to make tomato sauce in the winter, would you prefer to use roasted fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes? Mon May 02 17:47:32 -0700 2005 1468525 0 queue 4 1468576 Gotcha. Up to now, I've always used canned plum tomatoes to make sauce. Tomato quality, even in the summer in my neck of the woods, is just inconsistent. From this point on, though, I'll roast fresh plum tomatoes unless I'm in a huge hurry and I don't have any already made, any time of year. The winter tomatoes at my market, after roasting, surpassed anything I've ever had from a can. Mon May 02 18:54:03 -0700 2005 1468562 0 Deenso 5 1468594 Deenso, you shouldn't have even answered the second very snide question. It didn't deserve to be on this good thread that you started. Mon May 02 21:30:53 -0700 2005 1468576 0 herm 6 1468696 excuse me, i don't see what was snide about my question. it was a genuine question about the potential for roasted tomatoes to make better sauce than even good quality canned tomatoes, and deenso's answer was very helpful (thanks, deenso). apparently, deenso and i have similar tomato issues, so i am sincerely glad to have her perspective. you ought to chill out and not lambast other posters for asking perfectly reasonable questions. Tue May 03 17:16:06 -0700 2005 1468594 0 queue 7 1468714 Agreed, queue. I didn't quite understand the reference to a "snide" remark either, so I didn't respond so as not to start a flame war. Tue May 03 19:18:57 -0700 2005 1468696 0 Deenso 1 1468523 The two Rick Bayless books I have (Mexican Kitchen and Mexico One Plate At a Time) have all kinds of uses for your roasted tomatoes - not described as such in the recipes, but you can easily adapt them for a lot of his sauces, using them as a short-cut ingredient. I'm a little excited about your recipe - I cook with Romas quite a bit, and following your procedure would make some good changes in many of my standard dishes. I would also suggest that your tomatoes would freeze very well, since holding their shape and texture (the only real problem with freezing tomatoes) is hardly an issue here. Mon May 02 12:34:26 -0700 2005 1468516 0 Will Owen 1 1468526 I have a feeling I am being obtuse but what is evoo?? This recipe sounds great tho. I'm definitely going to try it! Mon May 02 13:19:50 -0700 2005 1468516 0 Joyce Goldstein 2 1468527 evoo = Extra Virgin Olive Oil Mon May 02 13:42:12 -0700 2005 1468526 0 Deenso 3 1468534 Duh! Thank you! Mon May 02 14:36:31 -0700 2005 1468527 0 Joyce Goldstein 2 1468612 I'm sure that I'm not the 1st one to inform you that 'evoo' is extra virgin olive oil. I just could not restrain myself and did not feel like reading the other replies. Tue May 03 08:24:48 -0700 2005 1468526 0 ChiliDude 2 1468614 BTW, you're not the same Joyce Goldstein, author of Cucina Ebraica, are you? Naah...can't be! Tue May 03 08:29:59 -0700 2005 1468526 0 ChiliDude 1 1468537 We used to make them at a restaurant that I worked at several years ago, and while it wasn't a menu item here's what we (kitchen staff) would do with them, it's simple and unbelievably good. We would puree the roasted tomatoes and spred them on pita rounds topped with basil and fresh mozzarella - Pizza Margarita. I know that it's not an earthshaking revelation, but roasted tomatoes (imo) make positively the best pizza sauce in the world!!!! Mon May 02 15:42:01 -0700 2005 1468516 0 Chef X 2 1468540 Thanks, Chef! Maybe it's not all that earthshaking but, as I was slipping the skins off the tomatoes, I was thinking that I might have the makings of an incredibly good and thick pasta sauce, so why not pizza? Mon May 02 15:54:35 -0700 2005 1468537 0 Deenso 1 1468593 One way I've used them is as a pasta sauce with calamata olives, capers, parm reggiano...toss with hot macaroni. I also like to use oil cured olives but then again I'm an olive fanatic :) Mon May 02 21:26:31 -0700 2005 1468516 0 4chowpups 1 1468620 I just planted 24 tomato plants--I'll try this in July when I am swimming in tomatoes! (I like the idea of the high temp/shorter time method.) Tue May 03 09:08:09 -0700 2005 1468516 0 Funwithfood 2 1469008 Every summer I plant 6 or so Roma plants specifically for "putting up" a supply for winter. I roast them, then stuff them into baggies and pop into the freezer. I rarely buy canned tomatoes, but use these instead for everything -- stews, sauces, antipasti. Once defrosted, the skins slip off easily, if you want your tomatoes peeled. Fri May 06 06:54:58 -0700 2005 1468620 0 Pat P 1 1468699 You inspired me ... made them last night and they were delicious ... Had them on their own over some pasta, couldn't have been easier. Thanks Tue May 03 17:27:49 -0700 2005 1468516 0 SLO 2 1468713 That's what I'm talkin' about! Simple AND delicious. What more could you ask? Tue May 03 19:15:23 -0700 2005 1468699 0 Deenso