Roasting tomatoes, Rerun 8/15/15

I Think Roasting Tomatoes and Idella's Zucchini Casserole is worth a rerun...Don't get bogged down thinking this is too much work because it is really quite easy...The tomatoes are used all winter and the next summer and the Zucchini Casserole is an easy dish for family or potlucks!..Hug To All...OWAV:)

ROASTED TOMATOES

Roasting tomatoes brings out their flavor, and they can then be used to create tasty pasta sauces, bruschetta, added to soups or casseroles.  Use fresh, ripe, flavorful tomatoes for the best results.  

10 to 15 ripe tomatoes

2-4 cloves garlic, chopped (sometimes I add bell peppers and onion)

1-2 Tbl. chopped basil or dried

Salt & pepper (Optional, I like course salt)

Olive oil (optional)

           Preheat oven to 250-300 degrees. (I do the first ½ hour at 400 deg.)  Core & halve  the tomatoes, and place skin side down on a large baking sheet.  (If tomatoes are really large I slice them into 3 slices).  Sprinkle the tomatoes with garlic, basil and salt.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and place in the oven.  Bake for 3 hours until they have shriveled yet still remain moist.  Cool and use as desired or package in ziplock bags and freeze for winter sauces.   

Lovely Roma's

Taking the chance that my readers won't care if I sound like a broken record, once again I will expound on roasting and freezing tomatoes instead of canning them...USDA wants you to add acid (vinegar or lemon juice) to tomatoes, increase the processing time or even pressure cook them...I want to be safe but I also prefer that my tomatoes taste like tomatoes not lemons or vinegar...A favorite when I was growing up was a bowl of tomatoes fresh from the jar with a slice of Mom's homemade bread and butter.

Step l - I'm using romas but any tomato will work they will just have more juice...Wash tomatoes, then core slice in half and place in a cookie sheet, skin side down.

Sliced Roma's

Step 2- Drizzle with a good quality oil, sprinkle with fresh garlic, basil (dried will also work) and coarse salt...Three of these sheets will fit in my oven, each sheet holds about 4# of tomatoes...I set the oven on 200º and roast for 3 to 5 hours depending on the tomatoes and how dry you want them...

Ready for the oven.

If I am in the house I will switch the pans around in the oven periodically but if I'm outside working in the garden they roast fine all on their own...I do have a convection oven.

Tomatoes done roasting

Step 3 - First thing I do is slurp a couple of these tasty morsel, using my fingers, right into my mouth, then I toast a slice of homemade sourdough bread, slide a couple more onto the bread and see if they still taste like I remembered from a year ago...AAAhhhh that concentrated sweet tomato with a burst of garlicky goodness and just a hint of sour from the bread...Are you salivating YET?

Tomatoes ready for the freezer

Step 4 - If there are any tomatoes left on the tray after cooling :)... I slide them into ziplock sandwich bags...The tomatoes concentrate down to less than half of what they were in the raw state...I squish the bags, pushing out all of the air possible, then to double bag these I put 4 of these bags into a gallon ziplock for their final storage in the freezer...They are flat and stack nicely, they are simple to take one or more bags at a time for soups, sauces or casseroles...Of course for a large family you can use a larger bag to start with and I do recommend double bagging them...Happy tomato roasting...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

ZUCCHINI CASSEROLE

Grate one large zucchini (approximately 10 inches long.) I use a very course grater...Mix in with a fork 4 to 6 eggs…place large spoonfuls of the mixture  and cook on a griddle like you would pancakes, browning on one side and flipping to the other…Barely cover the bottom of a casserole dish with roasted tomatoes, layer zucchini patties on top of the tomatoes, then a layer of mozzarella cheese... keep layering, with tomatoes, zucchini and cheese until casserole dish is full…Bake in a 325° oven for about 30 minutes…Don't overcook…I serve it warm or cold, eat it for dinner or breakfast…Just love it anytime…It works well with the frozen roasted tomatoes…

NOTE*  Since none of you will have roasted tomatoes, I think you can use a recipe for marinara sauce or a good quality marinara sauce from the store should work…Maybe add a little more garlic, basil, onion or herbs of your choice.  Eat and enjoy, Idella

Below are photo's of start to finish casserole. I grate zucchini, mix, fry and assemble casserole as i'm frying patties so a large casserole can be made and ready for the oven in about 30 minutes...In the first photo I have one large zucchini grated...Break eggs over top and start stirring with a large fork until egg coats all of the grated zucchini.

Keep stirring until all is covered

Have the grill with oil and butter heating

Zucchini Patties almost cooked

Bottom of pan covered lightly with roasted tomatoes and starting to layer the patties.

Starting on the second layer, don't overdo the tomatoes or you will end up with soup!

Ready for the oven

Out of the oven, let rest before cutting, ENJOY