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Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
Kateryna Odyntsova
[donotprint]STRATEGY SESSION: With respect to strategy, there are issues to consider even in a recipe that contains only 2 ingredients. Since salt intake has become a public health issue, it's useful to know that different kinds of salt vary in sodium content. Different brands of the same type of salt may also vary. For example, common table salt contains 581 mg sodium per 1/4 teaspoon, compared with 280 mg for Diamond Crystal kosher salt and 480 for Morton kosher. An equivalent volume of Lima French Atlantic sea salt contains 330mg of sodium, while La Baleine fine sea salt contains 580. On the carb side of things, tomatoes have a relatively low glycemic index which can help moderate the glycemic load of any meal containing them.
When I first started working on Trufflehead, my son asked me to include "how pick a good one." He wanted to know what to buy, but--as a bonus-- I threw in "and when." If you've been buying tomatoes for decades, as I have, you learned somewhere along the line that they're only good from mid-August until the first frost. The rest of the year, they're a waste.
If you can't live without them during bad tomato months, you can make do with Roma or plum tomatoes. They're less fragile than the round varieties, and they improve with slow-roasting. A few hours in a 200-degree oven can intensify their flavor without drying them out. They'll keep nicely in the fridge for about a week, during which you can serve them as a side dish or add them to omelets, beans, soups, and stews. You can even use them in salads, as long as you take into account their assertive flavor and soft texture. (I toss them with blanched green beans, chopped anchovies, kalamata olives, olive oil, and lemon juice.) One side benefit: Preparing them will help you pass the time until August.
Serving suggestions: These tomato halves go well with fish, shellfish, chicken, and lamb.[/donotprint]
Slow-Roasted Plum Tomatoes
- 2½ pounds fresh Roma (plum) tomatoes, halved lengthwise
- Olive oil spray
- Kosher salt
- Chopped fresh herbs, optional
- Preheat oven to 200° F. Spray nonstick rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Place tomatoes on baking sheet cut side up; season generously with kosher salt. Sprinkle with fresh herbs, if desired.
- Roast 3 to 5 hours, until edges are shriveled, but tomatoes remain juicy. Tomatoes should lose about 50% of their weight by end of roasting, but not become hard, dry, or blackened. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. (Tomatoes can be refrigerated in covered container for up to 5 days.)
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