Slow roasting develops deep, concentrated flavors—perfect for perking up a grilled cheese sandwich, adding to a fresh bean salad or stirring into pasta with Parmesan and chopped herbs. Or just pop them into your mouth, fresh out of the oven, all by themselves. I love them layered on top of toasted baguette, spread with tangy goat cheese with fresh basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil.
Ingredients:
- Halved cherry tomatoes (or Roma tomatoes, see note below)
- Olive oil
- Peeled garlic cloves, smashed with the back of a knife
- Fresh thyme sprigs
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Sugar
Method:
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush the paper well with olive oil.
- Halve tomatoes and spread cut side down on the paper in rows. The tomatoes can be placed very closely together. Add smashed garlic cloves, here and there between the tomatoes, and spread thyme leaves across the top.
- Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt, a bit of pepper and one to two teaspoons sugar over each baking sheet.
- Place in the oven for one to two hours or until fruit has shrunk by about 1/3 the starting size. Check after one hour, and remove those tomatoes that appear done.
- Eat fresh out of the oven, or cool to room temperature. Store any leftovers in the fridge in a glass container with a lid and covered in a little olive oil.
You can cook larger Roma tomatoes this way as well, simply leave them in the oven for longer. They will take about four to six hours.
