Roasted Roma tomatoes

I love making a big batch of roasted Roma tomatoes at the end of tomato season. Any tomatoes you can get your hands on would be fine of course. Romas do seem to be my favourites for this though.

Tomato season has just come to a close for us in the Southern Hemisphere and I grew a bumper crop! I’d tallied up it was 10kg (22 pounds) overall. Not a bad effort coming from a balcony garden if I do say so myself!

Preserving an end of season harvest is a wonderful way to take advantage of the bounty nature offers us each month. It’s also a great way to continue enjoying the seasonal flavours for months to come.

I made a stack of delicious tomatoey things with my huge haul. There was tomato paste, passata, tomato jam, fermented tomatoes and of course these roasted Roma tomatoes. That should definitely keep us going until next tomato season!

If you’re not a tomato grower but you love to make all the tomato things each year… I’ll just mention that tomatoes are one of those vegetables you should consider buying as either chemical-free or organic. They are one of a few crops (like berries, nectarines, apples and spinach) that are heavily sprayed to keep the beasties off them. If your budget does not stretch to full organic buying, always consider putting some organic dollars aside for what the Environmental Working Group call their ‘Dirty Dozen‘.

Steps for making roasted Roma tomatoes

Honestly, this is very simple. You’ll see in the picture here I threw in a little onion and garlic with mine. That was just to enjoy with them that day – because having a taste test pre bottling up is always essential!

STEP ONE – Prep the tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 100° Celsius (210° F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Wash and dry the tomatoes, then remove the core at the top.

STEP TWO – Slice the tomatoes

Cut each tomato into 3 thick slices lengthways, then place in a large bowl. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp of olive oil, add in the leaves from 8 sprigs of thyme and sprinkle with salt.

Gently rub everything together to ensure the tomatoes are well coated.

STEP THREE – Slow roast the tomatoes

Line the tomatoes on baking sheets in single layers. Bake for 3.5 – 4 hours or until the tomatoes are soft and shrivelled, almost semi-dehydrated.

STEP FOUR – Jar the tomatoes

Pack the roasted tomatoes into a jar, add an extra 2 sprigs of thyme in whole, then cover with as much olive oil as needed so that the tomatoes are completely submerged. Store in the fridge.

These are delicious on sourdough toast, as a side with a meaty main or even served with cheese.

They will keep for a month or two should they last that long! The olive oil will harden when cold, so just let the jar sit out on the bench for 5-10 minutes to warm up before serving and it will return to liquid.

If you have any other favourite ways to serve roast tomatoes let me know in the comments.

And if you’re after more preserving recipes… take a look at my Foraged Mushroom Salt and Mandarin Peel – Dehydrated and Powdered.