A box of tomatoes, a braid of onions, and a basket of garlic walk into a bar, and without waiting for their order, the bartender serves each one of them a shot of olive oil, and says "You must be here for the roast.”
If your garden is like mine, you can't use all the tomatoes it's producing right now. Roasting and freezing them is an easy, drool-producing way to keep the summer bounty all the way until next year. Serving them on pasta, or dropping the mixture into a blender for instant spaghetti or pizza sauce are just a few of your options. Tempted??
Ok, here's the recipe - which you can vary to your heart’s - ok – stomach’s content:
Cut up the tomatoes - about golf ball size. Do the same for the onions, and either dice the garlic, or put it through a press. Toss in a little basil, oregano, and salt, drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over the top, and put the mixture into an olive oil smeared 9 x13 lasagna pan at 450° for about 30 minutes. A little blackening is ok, but the mixture should be ready just before the tomatoes get dark. The roasting process produces a sweet taste that far surpasses the standard boiled tomato sauce.
I dry a lot of tomatoes each year - it saves freezer space, and provides a flavorful punch to salads and soup - again, months from now. I'll stop watering my tomatoes after the upcoming heat wave. The drier soil will push the plants into finishing the fruit that is already set, and leave it with thicker skins for better storage.
I don't have any more tomato jokes, but here's one from my days as a builder: Do you know why that big tool in your shop is called a table saw? Because it can also be used as a saw.
I'm John Fischer with Good Gardening.
