24hr Slow-Roasted Tomatoes with Rosemary & Thyme
Sometimes—and by sometimes, I mean all the time—we need a vacation without taking an actual vacation. And I’m talking about a REAL vacation. But for whatever reason, we can’t do that right now. If you feel an urge to temporarily transport yourself and your home to the Mediterranean for an entire day, transforming your kitchen with the enticing aromas of rosemary, thyme, olive oil, and sweet reducing tomatoes, read on. These tomatoes can be cooled after cooking and stored in your fridge in olive oil for 2-3 weeks. They are absolutely incredible re-heated, or served cold. They are perfect on a toasted crostini you have made from the slightly-stale loaf of bread you are trying to avoid throwing away. *Note, the original inspiration for this recipe comes from an older Alton Brown cookbook I came across years ago, called “I’m Just Here for the Food.” It’s a lovely cookbook.
Ingredients
- 12-16 firm, ripe, plum tomatoes (you don’t have to make these slow-roasted tomatoes when tomatoes are in season, but they are better if you do. That being said, I wouldn’t suggest using the delicious (and pricey) heirloom tomatoes for this recipe--these are better eaten fresh. )
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 10 sprigs rosemary
- ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar ((optional, but if you are dealing with winter tomatoes I would recommend including))
- 1 shallot, minced ((again, optional, but can be nice if you like the slow-roasted shallot flavor in your final result))
- Salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Cut tomatoes in half and place cut-side up on a baking sheet or roasting pan.
- The tomatoes should all be touching each other, lined up in neat rows/columns to fill the pan/tray.
- Sprinkle with salt to taste
- Add the 2 tbsp sugar on top of the lightly salted tomatoes.
- Let sit for 15 minutes while you get the other items ready.
- While your tomatoes rest, preheat oven to the lowest setting that your oven will go, usually I do this at 170˚F.
- Wash and de-leaf your thyme and rosemary, and finely mince the leaves.
- Mix your minced rosemary/thyme herb mixture with some extra virgin olive oil
- Squeeze some of the liquid from the shallot before combining with the herb/oil mixture
- Add a small pinch of salt.
- Spread the cut-side of each tomato with the mixture above
- Pour over some olive oil on top of the tomatoes before you put in the oven at 170˚F.
- Cook the tomatoes for 18-24 hours and watch them slowly cook
- Shrink down to 35% of their original size. It’s amazing.
- I remember first reading this recipe from Alton Brown’s cookbook, where he described the overpowering smell of the rosemary & thyme tomatoes as they slowly roast.
- He mentioned preparing these after dinner, and popping them in the oven around 9-10pm before heading to bed.
- He says that you will wake up in the morning and stand in your kitchen and feel like you are living in Provence, France.
- I feel similarly about preparing these tomatoes as I do about regularly baking your own bread at home
- Even if you don’t immediately consume the product, they are both 100% worth making based on the smell alone.
- But also, this is dangerous to leave your oven unattended! Be careful folks!
Notes
Chef Alton Brown cooks these for twelve hours. And he doesn’t use the shallots, which are optional. I do a few other things differently, and sometimes turn the oven off if things are looking too warm. I will pull some of the smaller tomatoes before I pull some of the larger ones. Try Brown’s original approach and see how you like it (any way you do this, it’s fantastic). His recipe is simpler and easier, and arguably better—I love the guy. It was through him I learned how well these tomatoes will keep in your fridge with a little olive oil on them. You can also freeze them in little batches and defrost them slowly overnight in your fridge for use the next day. The final product can be eaten whole, hot or cold, or mashed up and spread on garlic toast. The cooking applications for this product are…endless.