Sept. 25, 2007

The taste of fall is undoubtedly the taste of roasted Roma tomatoes.



These were stirred into some penne, along with fresh basil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

The tomatoes were roasted using a method (sort of) described by Russ Parsons in the LA Times.

In his article (which might require registration but it's free and they don't spam you), Russ writes:

Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise and jam them into a baking dish. Scatter whole garlic bulbs over the top, season generously with salt and pepper and then pour in what may seem like way too much olive oil. Then you just let them bake ... and bake ... and bake.

I did all of that, realising too late into the project that he didn't say at what temperature. Hot oven? slow oven? Given the time I started this project (3:00), I opted to go with a hot oven. After a half hour or so, the sound of bubbling olive oil convinced me to reduce the temperature from 400 to 350.

Whatever. It worked and the tomatoes do taste like sun-dried but without the leathery texture. Perfect for pasta!