Sometime near the end of the summer the tomato plants that you thought would keep you in fruit all season prove you wrong by ripening all at the same time. If you are like me you planted just enough to see you through the summer and not enough to can (because you hate canning tomatoes). What to do? The easiest possible solution I have found is to roast them. I cut them in half and put them on a baking sheet (the jellyroll kind with sides), with olive oil, garlic salt, pepper and herbs. Cherry and grape tomatoes I leave whole. Into the oven they go on low heat, like 325° for an hour or two, then turn off the oven until they are cool. If this sounds like a pitiful recipe, it is. The timing depends on how cooked you want them and how big they are. The herbs can be anything you have in the garden - this year I used thyme and oregano. I divide the bounty into freezer bags, then stack the bags flat in the freezer until I want them.They are a great addition to soups. You can make a simple pasta sauce by chopping them up a bit, then adding them to sauteed garlic and onions. Just add pasta. They are ready for bruschetta just as they are, warm or room temperature. You can even add them to winter salads or hummus just as they are.
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| Ready for the oven |
2 comments:
Do NOT apologize: this is better/more direct than one spouse has been using from a tomato book! Cherry tomatoes whole, freezer bags (instead of jars, shorter cooking time--the guy will love this.
What a splendid idea. And the photo of the prepared batch is quite inspiring and helpful. Thanks!
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