How do you roast your tomatoes?

I found myself with about 10 pounds of slicing tomatoes that would not keep until the weekend. So, I decided to roast them on Hot Mama. I took probably 6 pounds of the, sliced off the bottom, and quartered them. I then place them on a cookie sheet (2 of them in fact). I drizzled them with EVOO, and sprinkled with kosher salt. I then fired up the grill to about 360 degrees, and put them on to roast. I haven't a clue how long this will take since the ceramic grill doesn't actually dry food out like a gas grill or an oven would. If it gets past 4 hours, I might just remove them from the grill and finish them in the oven. How do you do yours?

[Jenise]

Bob, I highly reccomend NOT quartering them. I know it's too late, but if you do another batch: halve them. Put the halves into a big bowl with several garlic cloves and maybe even some dried basil. Drizzle olive oil over all, toss to coat, then lay out on a sheet pan cut sides down. That's what you see in the pictures below of the batches I did most recently. Roasting an hour at 400 degrees will get you from the first pic to the second (I knew these shots would come in handy). Once roasted and cool enough to touch, the skins lift straight off with just a pinch. Now use, can or freeze the tomatoes with the collected juices. (Btw, the oven wouldn't dry them much either unless you were using the already low-moisture romas and roasting them halved w/ cut sides up. And that would take many more hours.)

DSC03295.JPG

Roasted Tomatoes.JPG

Bob, I highly reccomend NOT quartering them. I know it's too late, but if you do another batch: halve them. Put the halves into a big bowl with several garlic cloves and maybe even some dried basil. Drizzle olive oil over all, toss to coat, then lay out on a sheet pan cut sides down. Roasting an hour at 400 degrees will get you from the first pic below to the second (I knew this shots would come in handy some day!). Once roasted and cooled, the skins come straight off with just a pinch. Now use, can or freeze the tomatoes with the collected juices. (Btw, the oven wouldn't dry them much either unless you were using the already low-moisture romas and roasting them halved w/ cut sides up. And that would take many more hours.)

DSC03295.JPG

Roasted Tomatoes.JPG

Thanks Jenise,

Yes, you are correct in that it is a bit late right now. The second picture looks really great for making a roasted tomato sauce or even salsa, I would like to have roasted/dried or at least mostly dried, so that is why I quartered them. When done, I will store them in a vacuum packed bag (Foodsaver) with some EVOO to help them stay fresh and unfrozen. Anyway, even this late I can buy a 20 pound box of "canners" for about $12 at the farmers market. I will try you method.

Bob, we roast them for sauce only. We used to dry them but found that they'd still go off before we got to them, so we stopped. Roasted tomatoes do make the most wonderful tomato passata - we cut them in half, roast them in the oven for only half an hour, then put them through a food mill. We then freeze the sauce for later use.

Bob, we roast them for sauce only. We used to dry them but found that they'd still go off before we got to them, so we stopped. Roasted tomatoes do make the most wonderful tomato passata - we cut them in half, roast them in the oven for only half an hour, then put them through a food mill. We then freeze the sauce for later use.

Hi "C", your method is one I have considered. Truth told, I might buy as many as three more 20lb lugs of "ripe" tomatoes before the season closes. I want to make chili sauce, some (more) spaghetti sauce, and roast some more given your and Jenise's methods. Isn't this FLDG thing a great place!

I cut my large tomatoes into quarters, and if I have cherry/grape I leave them whole. I toss the batch onto a sheet pan covered with the non-stick foil, drizzle with evoo, salt and pepper. I also put a whole head of garlic, which the top has been cut off and drizzle it with evoo. Be sure to put the garlic head in a corner near the oven door. It will be done quicker than the toms, so you can remove it when it is. These roast at 425° until the edges are browning and the tomato tops are turning dark. There will be lots of juice, so at this point I turn off the oven and let them sit in the oven for about an hour. By this time you have squeezed the garlic into a food processor, dump all the tomatoes in and whiz away. What you get is a thick, smooth sauce. I freeze in one cup containers, this freezes very well. We use it for pizza, pasta, soups, and anything that can hold up to a rich and robust tomato sauce.

I cut my large tomatoes into quarters, and if I have cherry/grape I leave them whole. I toss the batch onto a sheet pan covered with the non-stick foil, drizzle with evoo, salt and pepper. I also put a whole head of garlic, which the top has been cut off and drizzle it with evoo. Be sure to put the garlic head in a corner near the oven door. It will be done quicker than the toms, so you can remove it when it is. These roast at 425° until the edges are browning and the tomato tops are turning dark. There will be lots of juice, so at this point I turn off the oven and let them sit in the oven for about an hour. By this time you have squeezed the garlic into a food processor, dump all the tomatoes in and whiz away. What you get is a thick, smooth sauce. I freeze in one cup containers, this freezes very well. We use it for pizza, pasta, soups, and anything that can hold up to a rich and robust tomato sauce.

Karen, I am sure getting a lot of usable advice in this thread. I like the idea of turning off the oven at a particular point and letting them rest in the heat. I also like the idea of whizzing them in the processor with fresh garlic. I suppose that adding fresh basil would just be icing on the tomato!

I roast them on the smoker (which also doubles as a plain old grill with hardwood charcoal). If I want more smokey taste, I roast them smoked and slow. If I want plain grilled, fast with less smoke. In any case, I roast them whole and naked (or maybe basted with olive oil).

Karen, I am sure getting a lot of usable advice in this thread. I like the idea of turning off the oven at a particular point and letting them rest in the heat. I also like the idea of whizzing them in the processor with fresh garlic. I suppose that adding fresh basil would just be icing on the tomato!

Yes, I play with the additions, and have added fresh basil. I've added a couple of canned anchovy slices too, this really gives a depth to the sauce. Just be sure to lable your sauce: Tomato/Basil, Tomato/Anchovy, etc. Some dishes may be better with just the plain roasted garlic and toms. I love the tomato/anchovy for pizza.

Bob,
Just made a batch of Romas - sliced in half, drizzled with olive oil, chopped garlic and herbs pressed into the cut side, salt and pepper. Roasted at 375 in the oven about 1 1/2 hour. Still quite moist. They are going fast and I will not have extra to store unless I buy more. Used for crostini; topping for pizza; as a base for a breakfast sandwich with leftover steak and melted cheese - a la McMuffin without the egg; tossed with arugula as a pasta sauce.
Never thought to roast large toms as Jenise suggests but it sounds like a great method for freezing. I have an abundance of large toms and I am out of containers for freezing the sauce I have been making.

I cut my large tomatoes into quarters, and if I have cherry/grape I leave them whole. I toss the batch onto a sheet pan covered with the non-stick foil, drizzle with evoo, salt and pepper. I also put a whole head of garlic, which the top has been cut off and drizzle it with evoo. Be sure to put the garlic head in a corner near the oven door. It will be done quicker than the toms, so you can remove it when it is. These roast at 425° until the edges are browning and the tomato tops are turning dark. There will be lots of juice, so at this point I turn off the oven and let them sit in the oven for about an hour. By this time you have squeezed the garlic into a food processor, dump all the tomatoes in and whiz away. What you get is a thick, smooth sauce. I freeze in one cup containers, this freezes very well. We use it for pizza, pasta, soups, and anything that can hold up to a rich and robust tomato sauce.

Hi Karen,

The tomatoes I roasted on the grill were slicers, and that (to me) indicates that they were of a rather large size, and that is why I quartered them. I like your idea of roasting a whole head of garlic along side the tomatoes, because there is nothing quite like roasted garlic. I also think that it would be a good idea to take 2-3 largish onions and halve them and roasted them alongside the tomatoes as well. The onions would go really well in a sauce IMO. Celia recommended putting some of the roasted tomatoes through a food mill, and that sounds as if it would make a really good sauce for pizza using the roasted garlic and the onion(s). Must try that. Thanks for the idea(s)

Bob, we roast them for sauce only. We used to dry them but found that they'd still go off before we got to them, so we stopped. Roasted tomatoes do make the most wonderful tomato passata - we cut them in half, roast them in the oven for only half an hour, then put them through a food mill. We then freeze the sauce for later use.

"C", If you roast the tomatoes for only 30 minutes, at what temperature do you roast them. My tomatoes are rather large, some weighing as much as 8 ounces, or 225 grams. Some of course are smaller, but all will weigh at least 4 ounces or about 115g. So, I am thinking that you might be using a much smaller tomato. Also, what is the typical OZ tomato like in regards to moisture. Of course for sauce I would like to have the juice, but then would I not have to reduce this in on a burner to make the passata? Or am I confused about what a passata is? I am thinking it is a bit like a tomato paste? Thanks in advance.

As a means of preservation for the winter months I oven dry about 2 bushels of Roma tomatoes each year. The first year I attempted this i peeled them, cut them in half, seasoned them and placed them in my oven using the convection bake setting. I learned two things-
1) I needed to also remove the seeds and insides before drying them. Without this step they took forever to dry.
2) I preferred to not season them at all. I wanted to add tomatoes to a lot of things during the year. In my opinion adding the same preseasoned tomatoes gave the various dishes a sameness in flavor that I didn't want.

Since my first attempt I first peel and halve the tomatoes. Then, I remove the seeds and rest of the insides over a strainer. The halved prepped tomatoes are placed on a parchment covered cookie sheet with the insides facing up and baked using the convection bake cycle at 235 degrees until that side looks dry. The tomatoes are then flipped and baked for another hour or two to dry out the other side. When finished, the tomatoes are not completely dry but the moisture has been greatly reduced. The tomatoes are removed from the oven, allowed to cool to room temperature, then frozen directly on the parchment until solid. The frozen halves are removed from the parchment, bagged, dated and frozen.

In "wet" years I have to actually drain off the water from the cookie sheets once or twice. I also separate the tomato pieces that are a bit brown and bag separately. For some dishes I prefer their flavor.