Summertime means luscious tomatoes, if you're still waiting for those to come to your local market, or if you live someplace where they just never arrive (Hello, Singapore!), slow roasting tomatoes is the next best thing.
A side dish, topping, appetiser, and more—this endlessly versatile dish requires minimal effort for a big payoff in flavour. Toss with pasta for a quick meal. Add them to Greek salads for a twist. Keep them refrigerated in a jar covered in olive oil for up to two weeks and see how many different ways you can use them! Left, I've taken toasted sour dough bread topped it with smashed avocado and a squirt of lime juice, plus salt and pepper. Then smooshed some slow roasted tomatoes on top. YUM!
To Make
Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF.
Wash and remove stems from 500-750g cherry or San Marzano tomatoes. Toss into a large roasting pan and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Then shake whatever dried herbs you like on top—basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram all work well. Put in a few strips of lemon peel. And you could toss in some whole peeled cloves of garlic, but that’s not necessary. Roll everything around in the oil and herbs to coat.
Roast in oven for about 35-40 minutes. Tomatoes will soften and become jammy in consistency. Cool and store tomatoes with the pan juices in the refrigerator until ready to use. Can be used hot or cold.