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Summer Fest: A Celebration of Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

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Bruschetta with Chevre and Slow Roasted Tomatoes

The Summer Fest theme this week is tomatoes and I can’t think of a better thing to talk about than slow-roasted tomatoes.  I made these for the first time last September and they were absolutely amazing.  Although I made them a few more times throughout the year with grocery store cherry tomatoes, I’ve been waiting for some good summer tomatoes to roast.

Cut Tomatoes with Herbs and Olive Oil

Yesterday I roasted a tray of 20 gorgeous Roma tomatoes that I had picked up at the Saturday Farmer’s Market.  It took all day, but the end result was fantastic.  I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but I ate about 15 of those tomatoes for dinner last night.  I just kept picking them off the tray as they were cooling.  My name is Nicole and I ate 15 Roma tomatoes in one night!  Now you know why you aren’t seeing photos of slow-roasted Roma tomatoes… I ate them before I could photograph them.

Tomatoes after Roasting

But I also roasted a pan of cherry tomatoes since I didn’t have enough Romas to fill two pans.  If you’re going to have the oven on all day anyway, you really should fill all the racks with tomatoes.  I managed to eat at least a handful of the cherry tomatoes, too.  I know what you’re thinking.  But you’ll understand once you make some yourself.  You should do that.

Tomatoes in Jar

How to Make Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

And here are some more links to help you along your tomato-roasting journey.  These bloggers won’t steer you wrong.  You need to do this!

Instructions for Slow-Roasting Tomatoes:

What to do with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes:

Other Summer Fest Attendees Celebrating Tomatoes:

How You Can Join in Summer Fest 2010

Summer Fest 2010 Have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes? Starting with our posts of Wednesday, July 28, for five Wednesdays, you can contribute in various ways, big or small.

Contribute a whole post, or a comment—whatever you wish. It’s meant to be fun, viral, fluid. No pressure, just delicious. Simply leave your tip or recipe or favorite links in the comments below a Summer Fest post on my blog, and then go visit my collaborators and do the same.

The cross-blog event idea works best when you leave your recipe or favorite links (whether to your own blog or someone else’s) at all the host blogs. Yes, copy and paste them everywhere! That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.

Or think bigger: Publish entire posts of your own, if you wish, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2010 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt of Mattbites.com).

Summer Fest 2010 Posting Schedule

7/28: Cukes and Zukes
8/4: Corn
8/11: Herbs, Greens, and Beans
8/18: Stone Fruit – I missed this one!
8/25: Tomatoes

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nancy says

    those look amazing - and I think you showed considerable restraint in only eating 15 :-) We have had amazing tomatoes in our CSA share and our garden tomatoes are loving our recent heatwave (me, not so much). My favorite salad of late is this very simple tomato, goat cheese and basil salad - I love to add in some capers along with the olives http://guinnah.blogspot.com/2010/08/tomato-goat-cheese-and-basil-salad.html
    Reply

  2. Stephanie @ Dollop of Cream says

    Slow-roasted tomatoes are wonderful -- I especially love them in grilled sandwiches. I usually use a slightly different technique, so I"m looking forward to trying yours. My contribution to Summer Fest this week is a cheesy tomato and zucchini gratin, bubbling out of the oven, just waiting to be eaten for dinner . . . http://www.dollopofcream.com/2010/08/summer-fest-tomato-zucchini-gratin_25.html
    Reply

  4. Kristy says

    Those tomatoes look so amazing, my mouth is watering!! lol I've never done this and am sooo going to give it a try! Thanks for sharing all the info!!! :)
    Reply

  5. Judy says

    well at least you get them into the oven! I am just eating our tomatoes right from the plant!!! will probalby have to buy some to make these! but will do.. I put thyme in mine when I jar ....
    Reply

  7. leslie land says

    Good as these are - VERY! - I'm still in the fast roasted tomato camp; love the caramelized quality they get. And of course although the oven's hotter, it's not on nearly so long. Admit this may be because we dry our cherry tomatoes; the fast roasting is mostly applied to big juicy honkers like Brandywines. The recipe link's in this post, which is sort of its own mini summerfest. In addition to the tomatoes there's a savory zucchini cake and a love letter (with cooking suggestions) to heirloom Black Mexican corn. http://leslieland.com/2010/08/pole-beans-tomatoes-ripe-peppers-oh-my-and-it-isnt-even-september-yet
    Reply

  8. Mary Papoulias-Platis says

    Love,love,love roasted tomatoes! This year I ventured out and planted a Greek tomato variety,"Thessaloniki"a small and juicy tomato, which I purchased at Quail garden's annual "Tomato-Mania" festival. My recipe is my Greek Egg scramble, my mother's favorite for warm summer nights. http://www.californiagreekgirl.com/?p=242
    Reply

  9. Jami says

    Ooh, this looks yummy! Here's what I do with regular roasted tomatoes: http://www.anoregoncottage.com/2009/08/roasted-tomato-and-vegetable-sauce.html
    Reply

  10. Lana says

    Nicole, I tried this the old-fashioned way first, drying the tomatoes in the sun, on my mother's elevated porch, but the wasps liked them too much, and I do not get close to wasps, like "phobia" big time. When I discovered the slow roasted route, there was no going back. All you need is some good, ripe tomatoes. I had them in my garden in Ohio, but here, in Cali, I have to go to markets to get them. Breaks my heart. Anyway, they carry with them the essence of the summer, and we all need that come January. My contribution to the Summer Fest is a story of my garden and a Serbian Sautee of Onions, Peppers, and Tomatoes. http://bibberche.com/2010/08/onion-peppers-tomato-sautee-sataras/
    Reply

  11. Kathleen says

    Will definitely try this method. See my contribution to Summer Fest at http://dejavucook.wordpress.com/2010/08/28/tomato-and-onion-tart/ and also at http://dejavucook.wordpress.com/2010/08/28/roasted-parmesan-tomatoes
    Reply

  13. Myriam says

    Hi, I left you a comment before, for some reason it didn´t go through. My mother used to make tomato sauce the same way as Lana did. And yes, I remember the flies. But it was exquisite. She dried them and then put them in an hermetic jar with olive oil and herbs. I prefer this method, it´s clean and fast compared to my mom´s. Thank you, Myriam
    Reply

  14. Jeanette says

    I love all the great recipes! Just wanted to share a couple of posts I made on tomatoes: "What To Do With A Box Of Tomatoes" http://jeanetteshealthyliving.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-to-do-with-box-of-tomatoes.html Warm Vidalia Onion and Heirloom Tomato Salad http://jeanetteshealthyliving.blogspot.com/2010/08/enjoying-end-of-summers-bounty.html
    Reply

  15. Kristen says

    Hi Nicole, The tomatoes look delicious! Do you know anyone who cans them? I'd be interested in a preserving recipe if you know anyone who does this. ~Kristen
    Reply

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