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Roasted Roma Tomatoes Recipe |  |
Real Food, Fresh & Family-Tested. Year-Round Kitchen Staple. Budget Friendly. Great for Meal Prep. Easy DIY. Low Carb. Low Fat. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Naturally Gluten Free. Whole30 Friendly. Rave Reviews.
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COMPLIMENTS!
- "... out of this world ... tomato candy!!!" ~ Marjorie
We All Have a Stake in Ferguson.
I Have a Stake in Ferguson.
Regular Readers know that Kitchen Parade is a "column" as much as a "recipe blog". This means that on occasion, I share stories and write about issues and ideas of import. Here, I wrote about the 2014 police killing of a young, unarmed black man right here in my own city of St. Louis: it rocked our city to its core and became the bedrock of the Black Lives Matter movement. I first published this commentary just days after his death. The recipe follows.
Remember when the Crayola people put out the first “multi-cultural” crayons? All eight colors lined up in the box: white to black, with tan, apricot and peach on the lighter side, sepia, mahogany and burnt sienna on the darker side.
If only real life were as neat and tidy as a crayon box. But it’s not.
If only a box of crayons could represent the rainbow of world skin tones. But it can’t.
Word is that “everyone” is talking about Ferguson, at work, at home, over meals and around TVs.
We too are gripped by the news, watching and reading many hours each day since Mike Brown’s death on August 9th, horrified by the violence from both police and citizens, stunned to watch our city in a tear-gas and looting spotlight.
Word is that white Americans – the “peach” and “apricot” people like me – are largely silent in public places, not trusting our words, not wanting to incite further rancor from Black Americans – the “sepia” people.
But America is my country and St. Louis is my town and much closer to home, my beloved nephew Matthew, born with pretty brown skin and adopted as a newborn, identifies as African-American and at age 24, by virtue of demographics alone, is an “at risk young Black man”.
So like every other American, I have a stake in Ferguson.
And if I’m not talking? It’s because I’m listening.
About Roasting Tomatoes
Way way back, I fell into a deep rabbit hole of roasting tomatoes at very low temps for a long, long time: think up to twelve hours.
It was my first year of blogging about a new vegetable recipe every day for a year at A Veggie Venture so I documented one batch after another (and another) in Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, experimenting and learning:
- how much oil to use
- whether fresh herbs or dried herbs worked better
- what kind of tomatoes worked best
- for exactly how long
- at what temperatures did the tomatoes condense into a coveted dark and dusky tomato concoction
In the end, I shared the final results, here on Kitchen Parade in Slow-Roasted Tomatoes.
Why Roast Roma Tomatoes?
In my tomato-roasting odyssey, I experimented with roasting Roma tomatoes and was decidedly unimpressed.
But I came back to Romas recently. Why?
- Roma tomatoes are easy to find in everyday grocery stores, no need to hunt around at farmers markets.
- Roma tomatoes available year-round, not just during tomato season.
- Roma tomatoes are inexpensive, not pricey like summer's best tomatoes.
- Most of all, even plain ol' supermarket Roma tomatoes turn into something special in the oven!
What Are Roma Tomatoes?
- ... may also be called Italian tomatoes or plum tomatoes
- ... a general group of tomatoes best for sauces and canning (and roasting!) since their moisture content is lower than other tomatoes
- ... are elongated in shape (oval or cylindrical vs round) and smaller (maybe 2-3 inches long)
- ... have thick walls and skins; firm, dense flesh; fewer seeds
- ... are less fragile than other ripe tomatoes
- ... can be closer to vine-ripened than other tomatoes in grocery stores
- ... are easy to grow at home, growing quickly and fruiting profusely
- ... keep quite well in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks or even more
- ... take well to roasting, turning so-so grocery store tomatoes into something really special
How Long Should Tomatoes Be Roasted?
It depends.
- Slow-Roasted Tomatoes spend up to 12 hours in the oven at 200F. For slow-roasting, the tomatoes must be "meaty" vs the juicy "slicers" we all so love in summer salads and BLTs and more. All this time in the oven turns out deep, dark and dusky roasted tomatoes that are more "ingredient" than ready to be eaten on their own.
- Roasted Roma Tomatoes, in contrast roast in only 2 - 3 hours at 225F (full recipe below). Does this make them "Quick-Roasted" Tomatoes? Maybe, at least compared to the time and temperature for Slow-Roasted Tomatoes. But no, not when they still require some hours in the oven. The results are also different, producing "tomato pieces" ready for eating (like candy! says one Kitchen Parade reader) or for tucking into omelets or salads or even stews.
How to Roast Roma (Plum) Tomatoes
The detailed recipe is written in traditional recipe form below but here are the highlights in two easy steps. You can do this!
- PREP WORK Cut the tomatoes lengthwise into quarters. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange the quarters skin-side down on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment.
- ROAST Roast the tomatoes for up to three hours (some times longer), checking every 15 or 30 minutes after two hours.
What to Make with Roasted Roma Tomatoes
Okay, so let's say you have your fill of roasted-tomato "candy". Then what? Here are three quick ways to use your Roasted Roma Tomatoes.
ROASTED ROMA TOMATO DIP Roasted tomatoes make a great vegetable dip, also fun to schmear on a cracker or a slice of bread with a piece of tomato on top. Lovely next to a bowl of soup or a quick appetizer! For the recipe, please see below, Roasted Roma Tomato Dip.
SLOW-ROASTED TOMATO SALSA This is my latest obsession, it's dark and dusky and worthy of obsession. Use for chips and salsa, sure, but also as a pizza topping, a sandwich layer, stirred into cottage cheese. So many ways to use this wonderful salsa! For the recipe, please see Slow-Roasted Tomato Salsa at A Veggie Venture, my food blog about vegetables.
SLOW-ROASTED TOMATO SOUP Wow. For Winter Tomato Soup, I roast canned tomatoes with a little sugar. But what a difference just-roasted slow-roasted tomatoes make! This is a tomato soup sure to knock your socks off! For the recipe, please see Slow-Roasted Tomato Soup, also at A Veggie Venture.
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ROASTED ROMA TOMATOES
Time to table: 4 hours
Makes about 1-1/2 cups roasted tomatoes / about 32 pieces
- 1 pound (454g) Roma tomatoes (about 8 tomatoes)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
Heat oven to 225F/100C.
Lengthwise, cut the tomatoes into quarters. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange skin-side down on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil or parchment, otherwise, yikes, the acidic tomato will dull the shiny surface.
Roast for about 3 hours, checking every 15 minutes or so after 2 hours. The tomatoes should be firm and slightly dry, the edges may curl up a little, if a little char occurs on the tips, all the better! This can take less than two hours, even more than two hours, gauge doneness based on appearance and touch rather than time in the oven.
Refrigerate the tomatoes and their tomato juices until ready to serve. Keeps several days.
With the first cut, I like to cut beside, not through the center, of the tomato's stem end, then remove a tiny sliver where the stem once was. Just-picked Roma tomatoes from the garden may take longer to roast, I suspect it's the extra moisture. Back in 2005, I published my recipe for Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, wonderful for cooking, adding an amazing deep'n'dark tomato flavor to winter dishes. In contrast, Roasted Roma Tomatoes are meant to be eaten as they are, I love them in salads, atop a smear of hummus, tucked into omelets.
WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 1 & PointsPlus 1 & SmartPoints 1 & Freestyle 1 & myWW green 1 & blue 1 & purple 1 & future WW points CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = 2-1/2 tomatoes (1g protein). ROASTED ROMA TOMATO DIP
Time to table: 5 minutes
Makes about 2/3 cup
- 4 pieces (equivalent of 1 whole) Roasted Roma Tomato
- 1/4 cup cottage cheese (low-fat works well)
- 1" square feta
- Pinch of sugar
- Buttermilk, as needed to thin a little
In a mini food processor, mix all except the buttermilk until chunky, scraping the sides and re-starting as needed. Add a little buttermilk to thin to the right consistency.
More Late-Summer Tomato Recipes
more~ summer tomatoes ~
~ Never Take a Good Tomato for Granted: Twelve Favorite Tomato Recipes ~
- ROAST THE TOMATOES Slow-Roasted Tomatoes Summer providence for winter meals
- THEN MAKE PASTA Pasta with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
- THE RECIPE Grilled Steak with Tomato-Avocado Salad in a Warm Poblano-Bacon Vinaigrette A hearty salad supper, steak with a mess of lettuce, tomatoes, avocado in a poblano-bacon vinaigrette.
- ANOTHER TAKE Easy-Easy Marinated Flank Steak Just two ingredients and about ten minutes of hands-on time.
- THE RECIPE Skillet-Stewed Green Beans with Tomato & Basil A memorable summer combo.
- ANOTHER TAKE Slow Cooker Green Beans & Tomatoes Meatless Monday magic ...
Shop Your Pantry First
(helping home cooks save money on groceries)~ more tomato recipes ~
~ more cottage cheese recipes ~
~ feta ~
~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~
Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences.
Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.
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We all have a stake in Ferguson. Thank you for not yelling. So many people are yelling. No one seems to be listening.
ReplyDeleteA BOX OF CRAYONS? GET REAL. THIS IS NOT ABOUT SKIN COLOR THIS IS ABOUT VICTIMS OF POLICE VIOLENCE.
ReplyDeleteAmen!
ReplyDeleteYesterday a black woman greeted me warmly outside the drugstore. She didn’t need to do this but she did and it surprised me. Later I realized she is probably being extra friendly on purpose. Now I’m doing it too, especially with African Americans since I am white.
ReplyDeleteI made the roasted Roma tomatoes and they were out of this world, used them in a saute with zucchini, red peppers, and charred corn. Of course, a few of them didn't make it in there, I ate them and thought, hum tomato candy!!!
ReplyDelete