Tuesday, March 2, 2010

tomato help {works-for-me-wednesday}

there's maybe nothing more gross than pale tomatoes.  they're lackluster as far as flavor goes, and as for their texture, sometimes they go straight to grainy... YUCK! 

i almost never buy tomatoes unless i can hold them and smell them, but occasionally we get a great deal through our organic co-op and i risk it and unfortunately they sometimes come looking like this:



sorry, but ain't no way i'm going to eat sad, pale tomatoes like this; neither will we waste good organic produce!  to the rescue: roast them!

slice them in half.  we're going to roast these babies.  drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  super simple.  if you want, sprinkle with dried herbs, but do this before the olive oil or the herbs will possibly burn.  burned herbs do not work-for-me.



into the oven with you, little guys!  a little note here: it's best to use a pan with a bit of a lip to catch those wandering juices.  a happy side effect we accidentally discovered is that the acids do a nice job on all the unwanted "seasoning" built up on our pan.  if you actually have a well-seasoned pan, do not use it for this recipe. 

i've tried doing these under the broiler, which is great if they're fairly  ripe and rich in color.  sprinkle those with parmesan and broil just till the cheese browns.  for these critters, though, a little more help was needed.  with a temperature of around 400 degrees, roast them for 30 minutes or so.  we're not going all the way to sun-dried (which you could, which is also delicious), but just till they're nice and gooey and rich, with a golden crust on top.



there you have it.  delicious, delightful tomatoes - saved from their sad pale previous state.  and that's what works for me this wednesday!  if you love this tip and would like to see more, click here!  (temporarily hosted at rocks in my dryer for march 3rd and march 10th. - thanks!)
enjoy!  and if you like what you see, leave a comment!  hugs.

5 comments:

Carrie said...

This looks so yummy! We love tomatoes here, but my hubby learned last year he is allergic ... every once in a while we'll splurge, though! I'll have to try this next time!! ;)

Mom2fur said...

I love roasted tomatoes! It just brings out the sweetness, doesn't it?
When the nice weather comes, don't forget to do them on the grill, too!

Anonymous said...

What a great "rescue" - I will remember this too for the tomatoes I harvest on that last night before the first frost. Yum!
Thanks for your comments on my Disney post - yes, excellent point about being able to use Disney busses on-property. I totally should've mentioned that!

Anonymous said...

I love roasted tomatoes, too! Great use of under-ripe tomatoes.

My Grandma makes roasted tomatoes with tuna salad and cheese melted on top. It's comfort food at its best!

Mari said...

Thanks for stopping at my blog. I've checked out a few of your sites and your photography is amazing!
These tomatoes look yummy! Great idea.