In the last couple of weeks my tomato plants have been producing tons of cherry tomatoes. Last summer I discovered the best way to use up an excess of cherry tomatoes: slow roast them. Chop them in half, throw them in a baking pan with olive oil, garlic, herbs, and salt, and they shrink up and become incredibly sweet when baked at a low heat. If you’ve never had them you’re in for a treat.
They’re also great in other recipes, like in this zucchini noodle dish.
Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Cherry or grape tomatoes
Whole gloves of garlic, unpeeled
Olive oil
Herbs such as thyme or rosemary (optional)
Salt
Pepper
Preheat oven to 225°F.
Halve each tomato crosswise. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet cut-side up, along with the cloves of garlic. Drizzle or spray with olive oil, just enough to make the tomatoes glisten. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper and the coarsely-torn herbs onto the tomatoes. Bake the tomatoes for about three hours, checking them after two hours. You want them to be shriveled and dry, but with a little juice left inside. The exact time will vary based on the size of your tomatoes.
Either use them right away or let them cool and keep them in the fridge. Remove the skin from the garlic and enjoy with the tomatoes.
I eat these with cheese on crackers, but I’ve also had them in a sandwich, in salads, on pizza, and on avocado toast. They’re also great in a pasta dish or even in a salsa. Basically, you can use them anywhere you’d use fresh or sun-dried tomatoes.
