Slow Roasted Tomatoes With Olive Oil And Lime Food

SLOW ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES PRESERVED IN OLIVE OIL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Rinse and dry the tomatoes, then spread onto a large baking sheet. Add the thyme, basil and garlic to the pan, then drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil and toss with your hands, making sure everything is coated, especially the garlic and herbs to keep them from getting crispy.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then give a good stir to coat everything. Roast for 2 1/2 hours, stirring a few times throughout, or until tomatoes are blistered and shrunken as shown above.
• Taste one and sprinkle with a little more salt if needed. Remove garlic and herbs, as they can spoil and are not safe for preserving, then add the tomatoes to a sterilized jar (thoroughly washed with soapy hot water).
• Cover completely with olive oil and store in the refrigerator for 6 weeks (or longer) just make sure they stay completely submerged in the oil. The olive oil will harden in the refrigerator, which is fine, just let sit out before serving and it will return to liquid.

SLOW-ROASTED TOMATOES WITH OLIVE OIL AND LIME

Steps:

• Center a rack in the oven and heat to 200 degrees. Have a nonreactive baking pan at hand that can hold the tomatoes comfortably, such as a 9-inch, deep-dish pie plate.
• Put a large saucepan of water to boil and fill a large bowl with cold water and ice cubes. Cut a shallow X in the bottom of each tomato, and one by one, drop them into the boiling water. Count 15 to 20 seconds, then transfer the tomatoes to the bowl of ice water. Peel each tomato. Using a small knife, remove each tomato's core, creating a V-shaped hollow an inch or so deep. Arrange the tomatoes in the pan.
• Put the sugar in a small bowl, then finely grate the zest from both limes over it. Rub the ingredients together between your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic and maybe colored. Spoon an equal amount of sugar into each tomato.
• If you're using lemon or lime oil or extract, stir it into the olive oil. Spoon the olive oil over the tomatoes, allowing just a few drops to fall into the tomatoes' hollows.
• Bake for 2 to 3 hours, basting a couple of times each hour, until the tomatoes are soft all the way through but still hold their shape. (You can poke them with a bamboo skewer or the tip of a thin knife to test.) Remove the dish from the oven, and season the tomatoes with salt and pepper.
• These are best served at room temperature, but can also be enjoyed warm or even chilled. Spoon a little oil from the baking dish over each tomato just before serving. These are at their peak the day they are made, but they'll hold for a day in the refrigerator. If you've refrigerated the tomatoes, it's best to serve them either chilled or at room temperature.

AMAZINGLY SWEET SLOW-ROASTED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Put the halved tomatoes in a bowl and toss with the olive oil. Oil a rack that will fit on top of a baking sheet. Place foil on the baking sheet and oil the foil, and place the rack on top. Place the tomatoes, cut side up, on the rack. Sprinkle with coarse salt and a tiny amount of sugar. Place in the oven and roast for 2 hours. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 30 minutes. The tomatoes will look a little dry on the surfaces and the skin will be tough. But when you bite into the tomatoes you'll experience a rush of incredibly sweet juice and pulp. If you want to use these for a sauce, put through the fine blade of a food mill.

SLOW-COOKED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Can be made up to 2 days ahead. Heat oven to 120C/fan 100C/gas ½. Halve the tomatoes widthways and place, cut-side up, in a roasting pan. Peel the garlic cloves and slice very thinly into slivers. Put a sliver on each tomato, season and scatter over thyme or rosemary leaves. Sprinkle each with sherry vinegar, then with balsamic vinegar and finally with olive oil. Bake for 2-3 hrs until soft and slightly shrivelled. Remove and cool.

SLOW ROASTED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 F (about 9 hours roasting time)
• Wash tomatoes, dry, and cut each tomato in half lengthwise, keeping the stem spot in one piece (to grab when peeling the tomatoes later.) Put tomatoes in a bowl and toss with olive oil and herbs. (Any combination of herbs that appeals to you can be used.).
• Brush cookie sheet very lightly with olive oil. Arrange tomatoes cut-side down on cookie sheet.
• After about 8 hours, start checking tomatoes. They're done when skins puff up and tomatoes are reduced in size by at least half. It's a personal preference as to how dried you like them, and I prefer to cook mine until they look fairly dense, but still a tiny bit juicy.
• Let cool.
• Slip tomato skins off, collecting tomato meat and juices. Transfer to freezer bags and freeze.