Signs of the Season

     Yesterday I picked my first tomato of the season!  Ironically it wasn't from any of the plants I have been nurturing in my numerous porch pots.  It was a tiny cherry tomato growing from a volunteer out by the compost bin behind the barn.  Dutifully I have been watering and feeding all the plants I carefully potted and set out on the porch steps.  And while they are magnificent specimens, there is nothing out there with even a hint of color to the fruits.  

     I have high hopes that sometime later this summer the Marzano tomatoes will ripen so I can try out the following recipe found in the August/September issue of Fine Cooking:

Oven Roasted Tomatoes

10 Roma (plum) tomatoes, peeled and halved lengthwise

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

1/2 cup coarse salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp minced thyme

Heat the oven to 250F.

     Arrange the tomato halves, cut side up, in a 6 quart saute pan.  Drizzle the tomatoes with the EVOO and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme.

     Place the pan in the oven and cook for 3 1/2 hours to partially dry the tomatoes.  They will shrink in size but should still be moist.  Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan.

     If the tomatoes will be stored, layer them in a storage container and pour the oil remaining in the pan over the top.  If the tomatoes are to be used in a dish, such as pasta, they can be cut into the desired shape and added cold to the dish.  As an accompaniment to another dish, the tomatoes can be warmed in a 325F oven before serving.

Recipe by Chef Thomas Keller