Tomato, Tomaatto

When I was pregnant with my son about a hundred years ago, food was not my friend. I had no appetite while carrying that little guy... except for tomatoes. I could not get enough tomatoes and I found a gazillion ways to fix them. Funny thing, too...to this day, my son loves tomatoes. He eats them raw for snacks and pops those little grape tomatoes in his mouth like, well, like grapes!

That summer just before I gave birth to him, I was feasting on all things tomato, especially since it was the season they were plentiful. Consequently, I have many recipes. The one that follows is just about the most delicious way to use up Roma tomatoes. The secret is to roast them at a really, really low temperature for hours until they become sweet and somewhat dehydrated. There are many, many ways to use these tomatoes--in sauces, as a base for a pesto, tossed with pasta, warmed and folded into fresh baby spinach leaves.

Around our house, our favorite way to enjoy these sweet, little nuggets is to simply spread them onto crusty bread that has been toasted up with a little drizzle of EVOO.

Roasted Roma Tomatoes

12 Medium Roma Tomatoes (sometimes called plum tomatoes)
Approximately ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
Dried Italian seasoning (optional)
Head of garlic, cloves pulled apart, but kept in their individual papers

Baking Sheet
Parchment Paper

Preheat Oven to 275 F
Slice the ends off of the tomatoes and then slice them into thick, 1 inch pieces (crosswise). This will mean that some tomatoes will be sliced into thirds, some just in half, depending on the size of the tomatoes
Lay them on a parchment lined baking sheet
Lay the garlic cloves in between the tomato slices
Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper
Drizzle olive oil over, covering the surface of each tomato
Sprinkle with Italian seasoning (optional)
Place into oven and roast for 2-3 hours, until they are shriveled, soft and just slightly brown.

Some ideas for using roasted tomatoes:
- Use as topping for pizzas
- Chop, toss with a little fresh basil and pile onto toasted French bread slices (sort of a bruschetta)
- Toss in with vegetables during the last five minutes of roasting
- Chop & combine with sautéed onion; then, sprinkle over baked chicken
- In Risotto or flavored rice dishes
- In stews, pasta sauces and soup
- As a base (or an add-in) for a fresh pesto