Slow Roasted Tomato

Yes, I know that Labor Day has gone by and the world seems to be abandoning summer for fall. But, now is the perfect time to make this slow-roasted tomato. At the end of summer, tomatoes reach their peak sweetness. The vines become heavy, the store shelves become full of vibrant tomatoes and the prices go down. So, now is the best time to buy a bunch of tomatoes and slow-roast them for the fall at least.

Slow Roasted Tomato Recipe

Slow-roasted tomato came into my life three years ago. I discovered the Divina slow-roasted tomatoes* and my taste bud sang a magnificent song. The first year of eating slow-roasted tomato is so memorable because of all the food I ate . I had it with everything. From stuffing my grilled cheese sandwich to an omelette with pesto, it went into everything. There was also the pasta recipes especially orzo with feta cheese crumbles to quick tuna salad recipes. It seemed like I was having tomatoes every day while winter raged outside my window.

Ever since I moved to the US, tomatoes have been the one thing I gave up eating outside of their season. I found it too bland and questionable when it was grown offseason. Divina slow-roasted tomato feels like summer in a jar. Who does not love experiencing summer when it is cold outside? The tomatoes were amazing with the perfect balance of sweet acidity. I also love the liquid that the tomato is swimming in can be used as a salad dressing or light pasta sauce. Unfortunately for me, my local store stopped carrying it and it took me a while to find it online.

In the time it took me to find the Divina slow-roasted tomato online, I started developing this recipe.

It took some time for me to figure out how to get the tomatoes just right. I was used to just roasting tomatoes with garlic. There are lots of herbs in this recipe with some vinegar. This makes such a huge difference in the recipe because it is almost like marinating the tomatoes for a long time.

When I was trying to figure out what type of tomatoes to use in this recipe, I played around with the Roma tomato that I love so much because they remind me of Nigeria. Ultimately, I decided against it because it does not have the level of acidity that I love in this recipe. Also, I find it hard to get high quality Roma tomatoes in my area. Often the Roma tomatoes I find in my neighborhood are under-ripened. Lack of ripeness often leads to tomatoes that lack depth of flavor and feels mealy.

I chose cherry tomatoes because at the grocery stores I shop at, I find it in a plentiful amount. Also, there are many forms of cherry tomatoes and it is hard to find a bad one, especially at this point in the season. The small size of the cherry tomato concentrates its flavor.

Biting into a good cherry tomato can feel like eating candy because of the juicy sweetness.

The amazing sweetness of fresh cherry tomato translates well when it has been cooked at low heat for a long time in a bath of oil, vinegar and herbs. Slow roasted tomato is not a last minute recipe. It is the recipe you should start off early in the day or late afternoon. This is because it takes time to roast the tomatoes and build the flavor. Then, you have to wait for the tomato to cool down.

Do not be scared of the slow long cooking because this recipe is mostly hands-off. The most cumbersome part of this recipe is slicing the cherry tomatoes into halves and chopping the garlic. (PS I highly recommend using freshly chopped garlic in this recipe for the best result) Once you mix in the herbs, oil, and vinegar with the tomato, the rest is easy hands-off cooking time. When I make my slow-roasted tomato, I like to binge-watch television series at the same time. It makes me feel incredibly productive because I am cooking and relaxing at the same time.

I like to let the cooked tomato cool down before handling it. This is a dish that has a lot of hot liquid so safety is important. Letting it cool a bit allows for safer handling. While the tomatoes are cooking, I’ll usually prep glass jars to store them in the fridge. These tomatoes last a while in my fridge. I’ll usually have them there for at least three weeks if I don’t eat it all before then.

The one tip I have found for making sure that food lasts a good long time is to make sure that I only use clean utensils when taking out a portion.

Also, I never bring the whole jar to room temperature. I’ll usually take out the portion I want to eat and put the rest back in the fridge. These tips are generally good for other foods as well. I practice this with my condiments like mayonnaise and mustard.

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