When James Peterson’s guide to vegetables was published, I quickly became intriqued by his recipe for Slow-baked Cherry Tomatoes with Herbs. The two-hour cooking time was especially interesting, as I’d primarily used my garden’s cherry tomato bounty raw in the past. I planned to serve my first batch of these tomatoes as “tomato croutons” in a garden salad at a dinner party. When the tomatoes were finished roasting, all of the counter space was already occupied, so I simply turned off the oven and kept cooking, planning to pull them out after they’d cooled.
About two hours later, friends were helping with post-dinner cleanup, and they pulled a pan from the oven asking “What’s this?” I gasped, explaining that I’d forgotten all about them. It didn’t matter, because before I could finish explaining how I had planned to serve them, my friends were gathered around the pan, eating one after another of what they proclaimed “tomato raisins.”
They have the concentrated flavor of a sundried tomato, but with a fresher taste, a prettier color, and a more versatile texture. As is my nature, I’ve simplified this recipe a bit, taking a couple of shortcuts to save time. I’ve got a pan of my version in the oven right now and the house smells absolutely wonderful. I’m bringing vegetable side dishes to a birthday dinner this evening, and I plan to toss the tomato raisins with some roasted eggplant for one of the sides.
My version of the recipe is below. Really, the only differences are just that I don’t fuss with squeezing out the tomato juice and seeds, I don’t fuss quite so much about getting them all cut-side up, and I’ve used basil instead of the herbs and parmesan in Peterson’s version. I don’t profess my version to be original…just a little quicker to throw together.
Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Basil
(Adapted from James Peterson’s recipe in Vegetables)
Ingredients:
30 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. fresh basil, cut into chiffonade
salt
freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions:
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Coat a baking dish large enough to hold the tomatoes in a single layer with a thin coating of olive oil. Arrange tomatoes cut side up in the dish. Sprinkle crushed garlic, chiffonade of basil, salt and black pepper over tomatoes. Then, drizzle with remaining olive oil.
Bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or until the juice of the tomatoes has evaporated and you’re starting to see caramelization (browning) around the edges of a few of the tomatoes.
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