Idea for Roasted Tomatoes- Pasta!

Find the recipe for the slow roasted tomatoes here.  This idea is less of a recipe and more just for inspiration.

This is the third meal we made with the roasted tomatoes.  It was actually a throw-together-whatever-is-on-hand meal but if you have tasty components like slow roasted tomatoes at the ready, even those meals can be delicious and a bit gourmet. 

Ingredients:
elbow macaroni
mushrooms
slow roasted tomatoes
garlic
fresh basil

Directions:
1. Saute mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, garlic and some fresh basil until the mushrooms are tender.  Since this was the last meal we made with our tomatoes, we used the olive oil from the jar.  It had mingled with the juices from the tomatoes and was very flavorful.  Otherwise, just use your favorite olive oil.
2. Cook pasta until just tender and stir in sauteed veggies.  Top with fresh basil and enjoy!

Idea for roasted tomatoes- Sandwiches!

See the recipe for the slow roasted tomatoes here.
I love the tomatoes just by themselves but I'm a bit of a tomato fanatic and have been known to eat them whole and raw.  For most people, the flavor is best used as a compliment.  Here is an idea for using the tomatoes on a sandwich~ an excellent idea I might add, as these were the best sandwiches ever.  We love roasted garlic in our house- if you haven't tried it, you should.  It has a very pleasant, mild flavor that makes everything taste better and is very easy to make.  The instructions are below. 

What you will need:
roasted tomatoes
a baguette cut lengthwise
fresh greens
feta cheese
roasted garlic*
vegannaise or mayo
sauteed mushrooms and onions

To construct:
Layer one side of the bread with vegannaise and the other with roasted garlic.   Top with mushrooms and onions, roasted tomatoes, and top with greens and feta cheese.  Put the two sides together and enjoy!

How to make roasted garlic:
1. Start with a nice, large and fully closed garlic bulb.
2. Cut off the top of the bulb (where it looks like the stem would be) to expose some of the cloves inside.
3. Salt and pepper the top.  Pour some olive oil over the top and let it sink in.  Pour some more on!
4. IMPORTANT: cover the bulb in foil, keeping it upright.  Place on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for about an hour.  Turn down the heat if the top gets too brown before its done. 
5. Garlic is done roasting when a) you can smell it, b) it may start oozing out of the top, c) it is light brown.  It will be good slightly under done, just don't burn it!
6. Let it cool a little and squeeze out the insides from the bulb.  You can throw it in the fridge still intact and reheat it for about 5 minutes at a later time.

Yum!

The "guts"

You can easily make a paste out of the "guts"

Slow Roasted Tomatoes a la Gwyneth Paltrow

I love reading Gwyneth Paltrow's website at Goop.com.  I ran across it in a magazine quote from Jimmy Kimmel of all people.  For the last year or so, I check it at least once a week for wellness tips, advice, recipes, interviews, and ideas (and to drool over fashion and traveling that I will never be able to afford)!

I love tomatoes, so much so that I had abstained from eating them all winter when they are colorless and tasteless here in the Dairyland.  We finally have local vine ripened tomatoes available to us and I had just the recipe in mind...

This is from Paltrow's new cookbook, My Father's Daughter, as presented here on Goop.com

Later in the week I will post 2 ideas for using these delicious little gems.

Slow Roasted Tomatoes
by Gwyneth Paltrow

Ingredients:
Vine ripened tomatoes, washed
Olive oil
Salt (I also added pepper)

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally.
4. Rub with a tiny bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
5. Bake seed side up for 3-5 hours, or until they look nearly sun dried.
6. Store in a jar with olive oil in the fridge.

Before

After

I suggest making plenty because these dress up any recipe.  Try them in a pasta salad or a greens salad.  Here are two other ideas: sandwiches and pasta.  (Click on the word to go to the recipe.)