Save the Tomatoes
Roasting the last of the summer tomatoes in olive oil with some tiny onions and dried chiles is a great way to not feel so sad in three months when we’re all back inside wishing it was too hot to be outside.
I want my tomatoes for this practice a little bit ugly and possibly bruised. I want the ones that might taste a little fermented from being in the sun too long or the ones that got too much water and started splitting on their sides. I want to give these tomatoes a second life, love them, treat them right, and in return, let them love me back.
Remember, there is no such thing as “past their prime” tomatoes, only tomatoes looking forward to getting absolutely roasted.
Ingredients
4 pounds various tomatoes
A few peeled and quartered shallots, spring onions, whole scallions, thick wedges of peeled red, yellow or white onions, or even long-ish slabs of leeks.
3–5 cloves garlic, smashed
A few sprigs of thyme, marjoram or oregano
A few whole dried chiles (Chile de Arbol for something spicy, New Mexican or Guajillo or something sweeter, Chipotle for something smokey)
Kosher salt
At least 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Wash the tomatoes, take the stems off, remove any egregiously thick cores. Small tomatoes go in whole, medium ones get halved or quartered, larger ones get cut into 2-inch pieces. Put them into a large dutch oven or baking dish (or pie plate, or cake pan— anything goes, really. Avoid cast iron, as it’ll react with the acidity of the tomatoes).
Add the onions, garlic, and herbs to the pot. Scatted with whole dried chiles and season everything with salt.
Drizzle with a good amount of olive oil, and no I don’t mean several tablespoons, I am talking at least half a cup (you will also reuse this oil, so don’t worry about wasting— we are not wasting!). You’re not poaching tomatoes in the oil, but you do want to give them enough to swim about as they break down while roasting.
If you’re doing a large batch in the dutch oven, put the lid on and pop them into a 300-degree oven and let them go for 2–2 1/2 hours. Remove the lid and let them go another hour or so. (If you’re doing a smaller batch, say two pounds, you can do them without a lid for about the same time).
Notes
HOW TO STORE: Keep them in their oil— they’re good stored in the fridge for about a month, up to six months in the freezer.
HOW TO EAT: Anything goes. They aren’t quite sauce, but they are great to make a sauce with (just cook them down further in a skillet with some white wine and more fresh garlic until they break apart into a sauce), but also “great on toast” lol, plopped into a very soft scramble, stirred into brothy beans, and lightly sizzled in the leftover chicken fat from searing some thighs. Chop them up with herbs and spoon it over roasted vegetables or sliced steak. Eat them straight, with soft creamy cheese, put them INTO a soft creamy cheese and eat it like dip, honesty, do whatever you want with them, they’re agreeable and impossible not to love.