I’ve been reading recipes lately that involve hours and hours of roasting tomatoes under a low heat. Since I am a huge tomato fan (I mean, I could sustain myself solely on tomatoes for the rest of my life if need be), I was intrigued and decided to give it a go.
Since my oven in my 5X5 kitchen is uneven, I gave it a go at the boyfriend’s house which is equipped with a much larger kitchen and a sexier, gas powered oven. We purchased fresh tomatoes off of a stand in Kingsland, TX yesterday and so I decided these would be perfect for delicious roasting.
First: I halved the tomatoes and sprinkled them with cracked pepper, kosher salt and dried oregano. I drizzled some olive oil and set the oven to 275.
Next step: wait. Wait about 2 hours and they will be caramelized and wonderful! I also put several cloves of garlic still in the paper (you do this to protect the clove from drying out) and I threw in some slices of eggplant, also sprinkled with cracked pepper, kosher salt and dried oregano. You have to turn the slices though, otherwise you will get an uneven roast.
After giving the roasted delights a rough chop, I tossed in some fresh basil, shredded mozzerella cheese and some more olive oil. Spaghetti is a great pasta to use, but next time I will use a penne. I find that pasta with ridges collects all that wonderful juice and flavor. Garnish with seasoned bread crumbs, open a bottle of wine and you have one deliciously, roasted tomato and eggplant pasta dish.
Happy tummy.
meredithmbailey
La Plat Principal 