Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

What do you do when you wake up at 6 in the morning  and find that you have plenty of fresh red juicy tomatoes lying in your fridge?! 

Well if you're anything like me, you'd jump in to make your own Slow Roasted Tomatoes! 

An amazing replacement for your store bought sun dried tomatoes, made with the least amount of effort sans all the additional sodium content and the oil and the preservatives as opposed to their store bought versions. 

The fact is that I do absolutely love tomatoes, more so if they are laced with herbs and spices. I can then use them to make all the delicious Italian food that I love so much. Oh and did I mention that the home made version is not only healthy but also very cost effective. The burst of flavour in your mouth is just gorgeous!

You can make these with your regular sized tomatoes, I had cherry tomatoes on hand and I used them to my full advantage! They are all the more sweeter than their regular sized versions. 

Trivia: Did you know that tomatoes were known as the Love Apples in France 

Serves: Depends on use

Complexity: **

Time: Prep work: 15 mins 

For these you'll need:

500 gms Cherry tomatoes (You can vary the quantity as per requirement)

Olive oil to drizzle over tomatoes

2 tbsps balsamic vinegar (optional, I just like the fruity acidity that this adds to the tomatoes)

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp red chilli flakes

1 tsp Salt

Pinch of love 

Method

Preheat your oven at 120C or 250F, just so the oven is warmed through. Line your baking tray with foil, set aside. Now, wash and dry the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes in halves or if they are bigger, in quarters. If you're not using cherry tomatoes, you can also take regular tomatoes and roughly cube them in 1" pieces. 

Toss them in the bowl along with the other ingredients. The herbs can vary, you can use whatever you like. 

You could use fresh parsley/ basil too! Whatever pleases you. But this combination works the best for me and its pretty close to the store bought version. Spread the tomatoes evenly on the tray. Try not to overlap these, and keep them at a distance from one another. No need to be too fastidious.

These just went into the oven

Pop the tray in the oven on the middle rack and leave it there for almost 2 hours. Keep checking at hourly intervals.

This one is after about an hour of slow roasting. See how they are starting to change colour. At this point you can chose to drizzle some more olive oil on them if you want to. I didn't feel the need, so I didn't add any.

It is so exciting to see them turn golden, their skin shrivel and their taste doubly intensified! The beautiful aroma of the spices will waft through your entire home, just like it did mine! 

Take them out of the oven after a couple hours and let them cool down if you want to store them or use them immediately to eat. If you are planning to store these, just drizzle a little bit of olive oil to coat them better. 

I like to eat mine with pastas- my Aglio e Olio, make a oven-dried tomato sauce (recipe), use them in salads, my Gourmet Bruschetta or my bruschetta platter, use them in sandwiches or in a Gourmet Pizza....the possibilities are endless. Indulge! :)