Roast tomatoes now. Thank yourself in February*
It’s hard for me to save tomatoes. I always try to grow so many that I will be over run. But somehow we seem to adjust our consumption to what ever comes off the vine. So in order to have the flavor bombs I will need to get me through the deep winter, and to be honest, into early summer, I need to start saving and roasting some now, or head to a favorite farm stand or farmers’ market and buy a few big boxes of tomatoes. My favorites are actually cherry tomatoes, either Super Sweet or Sungold—they are so incredibly flavor intensive when they are roasted! But really, just use what you have in your garden, or can find locally grown.
Roasting tomatoes is easy. It’s just a matter of cutting them up, drizzling them with olive oil, salt, and garlic if you like, and sticking them in the oven. Here is how I do it:
Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F
Cut tomatoes in half and place in a bowl (I try to keep the same size tomatoes or chunks on each tray)
Drizzle with olive oil
Salt to taste
Toss to be sure they are covered in the mixture
Roast for about 45 minutes (until they are slightly brown and shriveled—the time will vary depending on how big your tomatoes are, so keep an eye on them)
Let them cool (try not to eat them all), transfer them to freezer bags and thank yourself when you pull them out in the winter. I love to serve them on toasted sourdough with a bit of chevre!
* This is of course my schedule here in the northern hemisphere