The best way to bring out tomato flavor is to slowly oven-roast them with only a few ingredients. Puree them into a roasted tomato sauce or just freeze for winter use.
With the end of peak tomato season approaching, it's time to think less about fresh tomato recipes and more about converting seasonally perfect tomatoes into winter-friendly storage forms. One of the easiest and best approaches is to slowly oven roast the tomatoes with just garlic, olive oil, and basil.
Preparing Tomatoes for Cooking
Here are a few tips to bring out maximum tomato flavor irregardless of how they're to be cooked:
- Never refrigerate tomatoes. Refrigeration actually kills one of their major flavor components.
- Due to their high acidity, tomatoes will pick up a metallic taste from reactive cooking pots, such as those made from aluminum, as well as aluminum foil. Cook tomatoes and tomato sauces in non-metallic dishes and don't let foil touch the top of any tomato dish.
- Add sugar to temper excess acidity.
- Seeds have a bitter flavor when crushed, so they're best removed.
- The tomato liquid adds some flavor, but can make a sauce too watery and is best removed for freezing or storage. To drain, cut the tomatoes in half, squeeze out and discard the seeds and juice, salt lightly, and let sit--cut side down--for 15 to 30 minutes.
- If the final dish doesn't have as much tomato flavor as desired, add canned tomato puree or sun-dried tomatoes for an extra flavor boost.
- It isn't necessary to peel tomatoes, unless the texture of the peel in the end product is distasteful. To peel, dip the tomato in boiling water for 20 to 30 second, and then plunge in ice water.
Roasted Tomato Sauce
This sauce can be used immediately or frozen for up to six months. This recipe was originally adapted from Food & Wine magazine.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 pounds ripe tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons chopped basil or parsley, or combination of both
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Halve the tomatoes crosswise and arrange them snugly, cut side up, in a glass or ceramic baking dish.
- Sprinkle the basil or parsley and garlic evenly over the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the olive oil over the tomatoes and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until they are very tender, slightly shrunken, and browned at the edges. Let the tomatoes cool slightly.
- Lift the tomatoes with a fork and let them drain well. Pack for freezer storage in a freezer-proof bag or, for sauce, transfer them either to a food mill fitted with a medium disk or the food processor. Puree and check for seasoning.
Tomato Types and a Fried Green Tomato Recipe
For more information on tomato types, and a bonus recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes , see Totally Tomatoes.
The copyright of the article Roasted Tomatoes Recipe in Vegetarian Recipes is owned by Lindsay McSweeney. Permission to republish Roasted Tomatoes Recipe in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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