Oven-roasted tomatoes make a sweet goodbye to summer

I love summertime. I love the warm weather, seeing people riding their bikes, families spending time together in backyards, and the smell of smoky meat funneling through my window. It brings out the free spirit in all of us as we head to the lake on the weekend, take mini road trips and tend to our gardens on the patio.

It never fails that most summers I’m left feeling that I didn’t enjoy it quite enough. I didn’t eat enough tomatoes, there’s not enough squash in my freezer and I didn’t can anything. I’m still dealing with that aching feeling this year but trying not to let it keep me from taking advantage of autumn’s produce. I do love some root vegetables, figs, apples, winter squash and greens.

This recipe for oven-roasted tomatoes is as simple as it gets and there is still time to gather from the summer’s harvest to make these. If you don’t have tomatoes left from your backyard garden, the recipe works just as well with slightly out-of-season tomatoes from your local grocer. The roasting process helps to concentrate the sugar so that the tomato-y flavor is amplified, leaving you with a sweet, chewy little piece of “summer candy” you won’t regret making.

I’m going to walk you through this recipe because it is so simple it hurts.

First, preheat your oven to 325 degrees. I had two pints of grape tomatoes, Sungolds and heirloom Cherokee purples I got from the Franklin Farmers Market and some from Maxwell’s Produce on Nolensville Pike. I rinsed them off under cold water and patted them dry with a kitchen towel, but paper towels will work just fine.

Then, cut the larger ones in half and leave the smaller ones whole. I like the contrast of some juicy and some drier. I generously coated them with about a quarter of a cup of extra-virgin olive oil, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper.

Place the tomatoes on an ungreased sheet pan and cook for 3½ hours or until the desired shriveled-ness is reached; you be the judge. Once tomatoes are done, allow them to cool. I stored them in my Weck jars because I’m pretty much addicted to the aesthetic of their containers.

This recipe also works fantastic with grapes and figs, though cooking times can be scaled back to about 1½ to 2 hours.

And I want to hear how you used tomatoes this summer; you can share at my website, Localforkful.com.

ABOUT

Charles Hunter III is a passionate chef and blogger writing about food, life and loving local in Nashville. You can find more recipes at www.localforkful.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @localforkful.