Can little roast tomatoes be a big meal? I hope so because they’re for dinner. I might serve them with toasted baguette and a green salad, and I might not.
I am so busy these days I don’t even have time to make full-sized food. So it’s appetizer-sized portions for breakfast, lunch & dinner, and no one’s complaining.
Take these tasty little bites: Juicy Roasted Tomatoes with Oregano and Garlic. They’re nothing more than on the vine tomatoes roasted in a 400 degree oven. I don’t know the variety of tomato, but my local Latin market calls them cherry tomatoes. It carries them 8 months out of the year, so they make regular appearances at my house. They’re bigger than what I’d call a cherry tomato, but smaller than most other types. I’m tempted to say that they’re Sweet 100s, but that’s a patented hybrid and this market is not the type of place to carry brand name produce. Anyway, these tomatoes (no matter what they’re called) make great roast tomatoes because they’re neither too big nor too small. They cook up quickly with just the right char on the outside. They have a luscious texture yet don’t fall apart completely when roasted.
I’m not exactly sure roast tomatoes deserve an entire post all their own. But I’m on my way to Florida and I wanted (no needed) to bring something new and luscious to the pages of this blog before I left town. Three days without a new post is almost as stressful to me as an unmade bed. I cannot concentrate if there is even one single unmade bed in my house. I bet you’re the same way, huh?
Oh and don’t get me started on a fully stocked underwear drawer. If I don’t have at least three pairs of clean undies in my top drawer I get positively antsy. I mean you never know what the day might hold.
But I have digressed royally, and I really don’t have time for digressions. I’m here to convince you that little food can make great big blog posts. It can be a satisfying small plate dinner too. However, if you’re more of a traditionalist these roast tomatoes can be tossed with pasta, fresh herbs and Parmesan cheese for super quick full-sized meal. GREG
Ingredients
- 1½ pound tomatoes on the vine (about 8–9 Sweet 100s or similarly sized tomatoes)
- 1 clove garlic (peeled and minced)
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano (if using fresh use 50% more)
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Place the oven rack in the top position. Preheat oven at 400 degrees F.
Remove tomatoes from vine. If the tomatoes are bigger than 1 ½‑inches in diameter, halve them. If they are more than 3‑inhes in diameter quarter them. Smaller tomatoes may be left whole.
In a medium bowl gently toss the tomatoes with the remaining ingredients until well coated. Pour the mixture into a baking dish just large enough to hold the tomatoes in a single layer. Arrange the tomatoes cut side up.
Roast in the heated oven until the skins blister and the flesh is quite soft but still holds its shape, 25 to 30 minutes, depending on size.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
I quite honestly prefer little simple bites to elaborate meals and oven roasted tomatoes sound like an excellent plan for dinner.
A post all their own? Well deserved, I’d say. Love roasted tomatoes!
This post cracked me up, and I am glad you spotlighted this emphatically simple little dinner. It is beautiful, and actually has a cozy sort of elegance.
Sometimes digressions are the fastest way to get through a writing project! And I agree with Adri — of course roast tomatoes deserve their own post. I love preparing them this way — best way I know to get flavor out of tomatoes that aren’t fully ripe or in season (which means all tomatoes most of the year). Have a great time in Florida!
Of course tomatoes deserves their own post! Maybe even their own blog!
I love roasting tomatoes like this! You are right — they pair well with any dinner!
I too cannot deal with an unmade bed! I can deal without a laid in stock of extra underwear, but I would like a stock of these tomatoes lined up for the quick n easy using. They sound lovely!
Love, love, love roasted tomatoes. That’s THE ONLY way to eat them in the winter and have anything that even remotely tastes like a tomato. 😉 But I eat them roasted all year round.
These little lovelies and some freshly grilled bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with EVOO would make the perfect meal! Oh…and I make my bed once a week just to stay in practice.
Of course they deserve a post all their own. This is one of my fave ways to prepare tomatoes, especially those that are a touch underripe. In the summer I use my covered grill out back, just to avoid turning on the oven. They are the perfect apostrophe to so many things, from a quick pasta dinner to a frittata. One has to love something so simple.
I love roasted tomatoes, and those look so good! Now I’m in the mood for some, perhaps as a tartine on a slice of crusty bread with fresh ricotta, black pepper and a sprinkle of chives or basil ribbons.
Oven-roasted tomatoes are one of my favorite things! I love that you use oregano — I will have to tray that.