pomodori semisecchi al forno / slow-roasted heirloom tomatoes

 [cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

when life gives you heirloom tomatoes...

An abundance of organic heirloom tomatoes is a great problem to have, but one that requires a speedy solution.

you start with some of these beauties

When I came back from our vacation between sea and sky, two CSA boxes were waiting for me, both rich in heirloom tomatoes clamoring for immediate consumption. 

gorgeous in black and white (Virginia Sweets in the foreground)

I asked my oven for help.

Heirloom tomatoes do not lend themselves to be prepared according to my recipe for passata. Therefore, I set the oven to a lower temperature, sliced the tomatoes and let them slowly dry for several hours.

The end result was a dense sauce that I used "as is" to dress pasta and roasted caulifower (cavolfiore), and also to simply spread on toasted slices of my sourdough bread with roasted corn kernels.

and end with their edible essence

A successful recipe bears repeating, and repeating. Between roasting globe tomatoes for passata (50 lbs / 22.5 kg of them to date) and roasting heirloom tomatoes for various uses, you can imagine my kitchen has been smelling quite good these past four weeks.

Farmers in my area have been offering tomatoes of many varieties at special prices for bulk purchases and I suspect the same is happening elsewhere, so I recommend you look for these sweet deals and grab some ripe tomatoes to slow-roast.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for Slow-roasted heirloom tomatoes

Ingredients:

• Extra-virgin olive oil in a mister
• 3 lbs / 1.35 kg heirloom tomatoes, preferably organic or pesticide-free
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon lightly packed slivered fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 250 F / 120 C.

Generously spray with olive oil a 3 qt / 3 l / 13 x 9 x 2 inch / 33 x 23 x 5 cm glass baking dish (no lid necessary).

Wash and slice tomatoes and distribute them evenly in the baking dish.

Bake tomatoes for 4 1/2 - 5 hours, stirring a few times. Stop the baking when the tomatoes reach the desired consistency, making sure they don't burn.

Take the dish out of the oven, add salt and basil and stir. (If you don't particularly like tomato skin, you can retrieve the pieces that naturally detach during the baking.)

Use immediately or store in the refrigerator and use within a few days. Use as a sauce or as an ingredient.

I have not yet tried to freeze some, but I am planning to do so before the end of tomato season.

soft pillows in red sauce

The photo above shows a batch of my gnocchi di ricotta dressed with the slow-roasted tomatoes.

pasta with a deeply flavored sauce

And here is a plate of my most recent pasta creation: fusilli rigati (ridged fusilli).

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The monochromatic photo is my contribution to edition #142 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, now organized by Cinzia of Cindystar, and hosted this week by Cinzia herself.

The photo was shot in color and then converted to black and white (Lightroom preset B&W Contrast High).

The gallery of images contributed to the event.

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Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

pomodori semisecchi al forno

or launch the pomodori semisecchi al forno audio file [mp3].

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tomato, tomato sauce, heirloom tomato

pomodori semisecchi al forno

quando la vita ti offre tanti pomodori...

Avere tanti pomodori è un piacevole problema, ma richiede una soluzione rapida.

Quando sono tornata dalla nostra breve vacanza tra il mare e il cielo, ad aspettarmi ho trovato due cassettine con dei bei pomodori di antiche varietà (in inglese: heirloom tomatoes) che avevano bisogno di essere consumati in tempi brevi.

si comincia con questi

Ho chiesto aiuto al mio forno.

I pomodori di antiche varietà non sono adatti a fare la mia passata. Quindi ho acceso il forno ad una temperatura inferiore, ho affettato i pomodori e li ho fatti asciugare lentamente per diverse ore.

Il risultato finale è stata una salsa densa che ho usato per condire la pasta e del cavolfiore arrosto e anche semplicemente spalmata su delle fette tostate del mio pane con chicchi di mais arrosto.

e alla fine si ottiene la loro essenza

Una ricetta di successo merita di essere ripetuta più volte e poi condivisa.

Ingredienti:

• Olio extra-vergine d'oliva (in un nebulizzatore)
• 1,35 kg pomodori di antiche varietà, preferibilmente bio o coltivati senza pesticidi
• 1/4 cucchiaino sale marino fino
• 1 cucchiaio colmo foglie di basilico fresco tagliate a chiffonade

Scaldare il forno a 120 C.

Oliare una teglia di vetro da 3 l (dimesioni 33 x 23 x 5 cm).

Lavare e affettare i pomodori e distribuirli in modo uniforme nella teglia.

Infornare e cuocere per 4 1/2 - 5 ore, mescolando alcune volte. Sfornare quando i pomodori sono ridotti ad una salsa della consistenza che desiderate, facendo attenzione a non farli bruciare.

Aggiungere sale e basilico e mescolare. (Se non gradite la buccia di pomodoro, potete rimuovere i pezzetti di quella che si stacca da sola durante la cottura.)

Utilizzare subito o conservare nel frigorifero e utilizzare entro alcuni giorni. Utilizzare come sugo o come ingrediente.

Non ho ancora provato a congelare i pomodori cotti in questo modo, ma conto di farlo prima del termine della stagione.

bocconi morbidi in salsa rossa

La foto sopra mostra miei gnocchi di ricotta conditi con dei pomodori semisecchi al forno.

con un sugo dal sapore intenso

E questo è un piatto della mia più recente creazione in campo pastaiolo: fusilli rigati.

Comments

[Alicia (foodycat)]

What amazing colours!

[Gitanjali]

Wow! What an amazing post! I love the photos of the heirloom tomatoes, and honestly that pasta that you made with it looks out of this world!!! YUUUUUM!

[Sally]

Fifty pounds! I better get busy. Off to the farm stand today to see what I can amass for a roasted tomato blitz. I am going to use both of your methods, Simona, and stock my freezer. Thanks!

[lucia]

Che spettacolo il colore dei tuoi pomodori!!! e quanti modi buoni per gustarli! Tu li arrostisci e poi li conservi in frigo anche?

[Simona Carini]

Indeed, Alicia. Every year I seem to discover a new variety with a distinctive color or pattern.

We had an early season this year, Sally, so I started a month ago. By all means, get started before the season is over. Happy roasting!

Ciao Lucia. Li conservo in frigorifero, perche' finora li ho utilizzati nel giro di pochi giorni. Spero di riuscire a farne un po' da congelare per vedere come si mantengono.

[Paz]

Delicious-looking!

[cinzia]

Love them, j'adore :-)
Thanks for your beeing so frequent at BWW ;-)

[Simona Carini]

Glad you like my tomatoes, Cinzia. It's always a pleasure to contribute to BWW.

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Gitanjali.

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Paz!

[Mary-Anne]

I love Zuchetta and grow it every year. This year I plants it on the end of my rose hill. Before I got a trellis-arch in place it had taken off. It has grown 25’ in four direction. One is up and over Pomegranate tree, so funny to see Zuchetta hanging down. Others have stayed mostly between roses runningabout everywhere. I keep tucking them off the travertine walkway. Love the texture in curries etc as it retains it’s integrity. Flavour to me is a bit like artichoke hearts which I also grow. I am making the heirloom tomatoes with it tonight as I have 40 varieties of heirlooms in yard/garden. I also have so many figs. Need ideas. I made Dalmation Fig paste which has cognac, no sugar, spread on warm rosemary focaccia. I also canned Fig Blueberry jam no sugar as my granddaughter, Melania loves it.

[Simona Carini]

I wish I could visit your garden Mary-Anne: zucchetta, heirloom tomatoes, figs, wow! Hanging zucchetta is quite a sight and a cheerful one. Indeed, zucchetta is great in stews as it retains texture. I have also used it in this recipe
https://www.northcoastjournal.com/humboldt/zucchini-days-of-summer/Content?oid=14707925

instead of zucchini and it worked well. My favorite way of eating figs is as fresh fruit, with nothing else. Figs on focaccia and also on pizza are great. Your jam sounds wonderful too. Have you tried drying figs?

I also have an old recipe that I made with mission figs, but you can try with other varieties of figs and other types of cheese (just make sure that it softens when warmed up):
https://www.pulcetta.com/2009/09/fichi-col-formaggio.html