Tomatoes are a wonderful and versatile fruit that we enjoy year round.  But should we enjoy them year round, as they are so much better when they are in season between June and September.  How many times have you eaten a tomato that was tasteless and bland?  That is because it was probably grown in another country, picked while still green, ripened by being exposed to a chemical and shipped thousands of miles to your market. In the off season if you can find tomatoes on the vine, choose these because they are generally more flavorful than conventional store tomatoes.

This recipe for slow roasted tomatoes works well with winter tomatoes, and is even better with fresh summer tomatoes.  You can use almost any fresh herb, such as thyme, oregano, tarragon or basil.  What you plan to do with your roasted tomatoes will help you decide which herb or herbs to use.  I made this batch with oregano because that is what I had in my refrigerator. Kind of made my choice easy and simple…

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

6 medium tomatoes, preferably vine ripened

1 TB fresh chopped oregano

1 tsp Kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/3 – 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Turn oven on to low setting, or about 200 degrees.  Quarter and seed the tomatoes.  Place tomatoes on a baking sheet, sprinkle oregano, salt, pepper and olive oil on tomatoes.  Toss to coat tomatoes with seasoning and oil.

There will be a good amount of oil on the baking sheet, but the oil will become flavored with the ingredients.  Use this oil along with the tomatoes to make a sauce, drizzle it onto pasta or dip crusty bread into it.

Roast the tomatoes for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, until soft and wrinkly.  Let the tomatoes cool on the pan, then store the cooked tomatoes covered with the oil if not using immediately.

Roasted tomatoes are great chopped and added to pasta or salads, pureed and made into a sauce, on a sandwich, on bruschetta, in omelets, and so many other ways.