Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

I'm not sure if anyone is still getting garden tomatoes, but this is an awesome way to use them up.  They taste like sun-dried tomatoes, but way better.  You can use any size tomato with this recipe, and it uses a lot up at once.  I bought some tomatoes at the organic farm here that were the size of really big cherry tomatoes.  You roast them and they shrivel down to less than half their size.  They are roasted with garlic, herbs, and olive oil.  After roasting, they taste amazing!!  I left mine in the oven a few minutes too long, so some of the edges blackened a bit, but they still taste amazing- not burnt at all.  But be more careful than me if you make these! 

I cut the recipe in half because my oven is so small, and has only one rack- I can only fit one pan in at a time.  But if you have more space, make two pans- you are supposed to be able to freeze these quite well.  These are so good- when they came out of the oven, I ate about 1/3 of the pan just standing there.  I actually made myself sick eating so many!

Before baking.

Thanks to some cooking friends for introducing this recipe to me- I got the idea of eating these with whole grain tortilla chips and goat cheese from this friend.  Such a good combo!  We brought the chips back with us from the States, and the goat cheese in the pic is just a log of plain goat cheese.  Spread the goat cheese on the chip (or you can use a cracker) and top with one of the tomatoes.  So good!

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
adapted from Fine Cooking and some Cooking Friends :)
half-recipe

1 Tbs. plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (use to taste- I never use that much)
2-3 lb. tomatoes, stemmed but not cored (I use cherry tomatoes)
Kosher salt
Granulated sugar
Scant 1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 to 3 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
2 tsp. fresh or dried thyme leaves

1.  Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12x17-inch rimmed baking sheet or a 9x12-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Coat the pan with 1 Tbs. of the olive oil.

2.  Cut the tomatoes in half through the equator (not through the stem). Arrange the halves, cut side up, on the baking sheet, turning to coat their bottoms with some of the oil. Sprinkle a pinch each of salt and sugar over each half, and drizzle each with a few drops of balsamic vinegar. Arrange the garlic over the halves and top with a generous sprinkling of thyme. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil over and around the tomato halves.

3.  Roast in the center of the oven until the tomatoes are concentrated, dark reddish brown (with deep browning around the edges and in places on the pan) and quite collapsed (at least half their original height; they will collapse more as they cool).  For smaller tomatoes, 1.5 to 2 hours, about 3 hours for bigger, very ripe, fleshy tomatoes, about 4 hours for tomatoes that are less ripe or that have a high ­water content. Let cool for at least 10 to 15 minutes and then serve warm or at room temperature. Be sure to reserve the tomato oil (keep refrigerated for up to a week) to use on its own or in a vinaigrette.
*To store the tomatoes, refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to a couple of months. They’ll continue to ­release juice during storage.

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