Great food is all about seizing opportunity, which is why I love this time of year. Nearly everything is in season, and farmers’ markets are operating at near peak volume in both variety of products and ratio of People:Dogs:Strollers being 1:1:1.
Now is the time that winter food boredom is overcome. Get tired of apples in December? Can some blueberries, peaches, raspberry preserves for a summery biscuit accoutrement as the Vortex rages outside.
I used to spend entire summer weekends making tomato sauce to can for the winter, but last year, I found a way to get my summery tomato fix, without giving up precious warm days for indoor cooking.
Now I take four hours, some herbs from my garden and tub of heirloom tomatoes (that cost just $5) and savor the season once the market’s bounty is long gone. Slow roasted and placed in jars, the tomatoes turn into little sweet bites of summer days gone by. The best part is you can even freeze them in oil to add fresh tomato flavor to yet another stew (seriously, I lose it once every February and boycott stews/roasted root vegetables/ anything “low and slow”).
Marissa from Pinch & Swirl has details and some great tips for the process. Here’s her recipe:
Slow Roasted Tomatoes with Olive Oil & Thyme
10 pounds small plum tomatoes, stems removed
olive oil for drizzling, about 1 cup
Fresh thyme leaves or minced rosemary, ½ cup or more (optional)
Fine sea salt, to taste
- Preheat oven to 225°F
- Arrange 3 oven racks to the top, middle and bottom positions of your oven.
- Line 3 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Rinse tomatoes and cut them in half crosswise (equator, instead of top to bottom) and arrange, cut side up, on prepared baking sheets.
- Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh herbs. Sprinkle with salt to taste (I recommend a light sprinkle as the flavor will intensify).
- Roast for 3 hours, until tomatoes are soft and shriveled. Rotate the sheets among the racks every 45 minutes or so, to cook the tomatoes evenly.
- Cool tomatoes until they’re comfortable to handle. Then fill your clean, lidded jars almost to the top and freeze.
Ten pounds of tomatoes will yield about 10 cups. I filled 12 4-ounce jars and 2 one-pint jars.
If you are interested in learning more about canning tomatoes at the height of the season, join us for a special Tomato Canning Clinic this Saturday at the Mart (it’s a steal at just $25/person). Canning expert Julia McDonald of Peasants’ Plot Farm will demonstrate the canning process, and one lucky student will go home with a small share full of cherry tomatoes, beefsteaks, hybrids and heirlooms.
