Roasting cherry tomatoes for later
The gift you’ll thank yourself for in the dead of winter.
October has been a bit of a whirlwind — here we are at mid-month already! I had the distinct joy of spending five days with my dearest friends at a borrowed house in Vermont, where it was shockingly warm for early October up there. Came home to one more dahlia Steve Meggos, a frost warning, and a major multi-day event for a client. So up to this suddenly Very Fall moment, all I’ve had time to do was bring inside Steve the Second plus a colander-full of unripe Sungold tomatoes, which are currently doing their thing on the kitchen counter. There are several pints of green tomatoes still on that vine, and thankfully the frost we got here was light enough not to have killed it off just yet. At least I think that’s true — I’ve been away from the house for several days (aforementioned event) and it’s currently pouring rain so I haven’t been out to check the status. But it’s my fervent hope that I’ll still be able to harvest more of them to roast and freeze for the winter.
Dahlia with pumpkin in Vermont | My second Steve Meggos back home
I have several pounds already tucked away in the freezer, as I do this time every year, and I’ve posted about this on Instagram in the past. But I’m repeating myself here for anyone who may not already be on this bandwagon, as it’s one of the best habits I have. Roasting cherry tomatoes from the garden and/or farmers’ market is an excellent way to preserve them for the cold months, with very little effort. I typically roast 3-4 pints on a large sheet pan at once, and try to do batches throughout the last 6 or 8 weeks of summer, dating the bags as they go into the freezer so I can use them in oldest-first order throughout the otherwise tomato-less time of year.
My farmers still had them to sell this weekend, so hopefully yours do too if you don’t have tomatoes on the vine. If not, keep this in mind for next year!
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OVEN-ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES
Ingredients
Cherry tomatoes
Good olive oil
Black pepper and salt
Three pints assorted farmers’ market cherry tomatoes, pre- and post-roast.
Heat the oven to 420°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Rinse and halve the cherry tomatoes, or quarter them if you have some bigger varieties in the mix. Transfer the sliced tomatoes onto the parchment and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. (You want just enough to coat them, not enough for them to swim in — they’ll be releasing a lot of juices on their own.) Sprinkle with black pepper and salt (pink is my fave with tomatoes), toss to distribute the oil and seasonings, then spread them out into a single layer.
Place into the oven and let them roast for about 20-25 minutes, until they’re shriveled and starting to brown in spots. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Once cooled, transfer to plastic freezer bags or a freezer-proof container in single-portion quantities. (For my household of two, I use snack-size baggies and generally put about half a pint into each. We typically use one or two at a time, depending.)
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To use, you can let them thaw on the counter and then throw them onto a pizza before it goes into the oven, or toss them with warm pasta and parmesan. They’re also great as the basis for a winter version of a BLT — you could pop the thawed toms back into the oven to warm a bit before adding them to warm bacon and greens on toasted sourdough. However you choose to use them, you’ll be thrilled with this delicious small gift you’ve given yourself.
