Slow-Roasted Tomatoes--Grow Your Own #16

When I saw this post on Smitten Kitchen, complete with mouth-watering photos...I knew I had to try. I just so happened to have a boatload of tomatoes on my counter, begging to be used up. My mother's Better Boy plant had gone wild, producing more than she could handle, and my own pitiful few surviving plants this year continued to give me the occasional Roma that was usable.
So I sliced them up, drizzled them with oil, and stuck them in the oven late one night. Oh, I wish I could tell you the aroma that was in my house while these were cooking...I added some cloves of roasted garlic, and the scent of it altogether was just heavenly. I felt like I had stepped into a Tuscan kitchen on a sun-drenched summer day..not that I have ever been to Tuscany, but you get the idea. It's better than a postcard.
And what better way to use the deliciously sweet little nuggets up than a pizza? I almost never use marinara on my pizzas, instead preferring to slice and salt fresh tomatoes, or make a BBQ version. But the slow-roasted ones...mmm. You must try it. Softer and sweeter and more plump than a sun-dried, but bursting with flavor and sweetness because of the concentrated flavors, they are the best of both worlds. Simply stirred with the garlic and topped with basil and mozzarella, they make the simplest and most delicious pizza margherita you've ever had.

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes with garlic
adapted from the smitten kitchen

tomates
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 head garlic, sliced in half

Preheat oven to 200.
Slice tomatoes thickly, discard ends. Season garlic and tomatoes lightly with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Arrange tomatoes in a single layer on foil-lined baking sheet, and wrap garlic up in a layer of foil like a bundle and place on sheet. Bake 2-3 hours, til tomatoes are deeply caramelized and somewhat withered, but still plump. Check garlic after one hour, if cloves are deeply caramel colored and soft, you can remove the garlic. Cool to room temperature and store in refrigerator for one week, or use immediately.

For this pizza, I also used my Basic Honey Wheat Pizza Dough, and simple leftover grilled chicken.



This post proudly submitted to Grow your Own.
Grow Your Own is hosted this month by Wiffy @ NoobCook.