I recently found a great deal on organic tomatoes, which is actually rare at this time of the year. I went ahead and bought several pounds of them and after a few salads, some Bolognese sauce, pisto and just about every single tomato recipe I could handle in a week, I decided it was time to preserve them, so I made a large batch of homemade roasted tomatoes and froze it in small containers. I am sure this recipe can be canned as well, but I haven’t done much experimenting with that food preserving method yet.
Did you know that cooking tomatoes actually increases their disease fighting properties? Lycopene, an antioxidant found in tomatoes changes its structure when is heated making it easier for our bodies to absorb. Lycopene has been shown to have properties that may help prevent tumor growth, improve cardiovascular health, prevent macular degeneration and helps prevent oxidative damage by free radicals.
For this homemade roasted tomato recipe I used Roma tomatoes, fresh oregano and fresh thyme, but it can be made with any kind of tomatoes and different spices. This makes about a quart, so make a double or triple batch as desired
Ingredients:
4 lbs of very ripe tomatoes
3 sprigs of fresh oregano
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 sliced garlic cloves
2-3 tbsp of olive oil, coconut oil or avocado oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cut the tomatoes in half and place in a large bowl.
- Remove the oregano and thyme leaves from the stem and add to the bowl along with the rest of the ingredients, and combine.
- Place the tomatoes face down on a baking dish or cookie tray.
- Bake tomatoes for about 30-40 minutes or until the skin on the tomatoes looks wrinkled.
- Pinch off the skin of the tomatoes (optional) and can or freeze for later use.
- Ingredients:
- 4 lbs of very ripe tomatoes
- 3 sprigs of fresh oregano
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 3 sliced garlic cloves
- 2-3 tbsp of olive oil, coconut oil or avocado oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cut the tomatoes in half and place in a large bowl.
- Remove the oregano and thyme leaves from the stem and add to the bowl along with the rest of the ingredients, and combine.
- Place the tomatoes face down on a baking dish or cookie tray.
- Bake tomatoes for about 30-40 minutes or until the skin on the tomatoes looks wrinkled.
- Pinch off the skin of the tomatoes (optional) and can or freeze for later use.
If anything can improve the taste of good tomatoes it is roasting them – deepens, enriches the flavor complexity and sweetness – yum!!! I think it is time to break out some of last summer’s frozen bounty 😉
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I agree, I love roasted tomatoes! I do have one word of caution though: the herbs and garlic will shorten the shelf life because they introduce moisture, which is what causes mold. I learned the hard way that tomatoes should be stored just in oil a couple of summers ago when I preserved a bunch of heirlooms and cherry tomatoes that I oven roasted. As long as yours are frozen, they should be fine, but watch them carefully in the fridge.
By the way, freezing actually preserves more of the nutrients in food than canning! I suppose canning has it’s advantages as far as emergency preparation and simply running out of space in your freezer. If you don’t mind me linking to my own blog, I did a post with tips on freezing tomatoes with a very simple prep, just peeled and chopped here: http://babybirdsfarm.com/tomato-time-putting-up-for-the-winter/
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Thanks for the tip. I honestly do not know much about canning
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