"roasted tomatoes" news and stories

There were amazing tomatoes everywhere I turned today while strolling the Sunday Headhouse Square Farmers Market. I picked up a huge heirloom 'mater, and ogled many others. This picture, from Renata Damasio, is a great example of one way to use the abundance of tomatoes that are now ripe (although I must admit that rarely get tired of eating them raw, sliced and with a sprinkle of salt). However, when your fingers start to pucker from the acid, stuffing and roasting them is a terrific way to incorporate a little variety.

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My Slashfood friends, I am a sadist. Or is it masochist? I never knew the difference between the two.

Either way, for some reason known only to, well, to no one, I decided to do the most punishing thing ever on a hot summer day: turn on the oven. I know, I must be crazy. The inexplicable thing is, however, that I turned it on to roast something that doesn't need to be roasted. If I needed to make a roasted garlic puree, I could justify it. If I felt like roasting a lemon herb chicken for Sunday supper, it would make sense.

My friends, I roasted tomatoes. Tomatoes! At this point in the season, there is absolutely no need to roast produce that is practically dripping with fresh flavor right off the vine!

However, I couldn't resist after I came across a recipe for Roasted Tomato Soup while flipping lazily through Marcus Wareing's Cook the Perfect cookbook.

Despite the fact that is summer, and the temperatures are going to climb back into the 90's by the middle of the week (at least here in Philadelphia), I have soup on the brain. Since I'm also obsessed with the summer crop of Jersey tomatoes that are rolling into the stores and farmers' markets around here, I thought I would share my very favorite Roasted Tomato Basil soup recipe.

Sadly, I have absolutely no claim on this one, it belongs to the Barefoot Contessa. I tend to have difficulties with many of her recipes (I can't handle the idea of putting a large pat of butter on the inside of a hamburger patty), but this one is foolproof and bowl-lickingly good.

The clock is counting down slowly, but surely, on tomato season, making fresh tomatoes something of a precious commodity. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that Bea, of La Tartine Gourmande, referred to her Roasted Tomato, Red Onion and Arugula Tart as the jewel of summer. The tart is a simple one to make, so you won't have to expend much energy in making it before you get to enjoy it. It uses a sheet of puff pastry as the base and is topped with slow-roasted cherry tomatoes and garlic, sauteed onions and mozzarella cheese. The finished dish is topped with a bit of parmesan cheese and some arugula, to provide a sharp contrast to the relative richness of the tart. If you opt not to make the whole tart, at least consider just making the roasted tomatoes, which would be lovely on a sandwich or as part of a pasta dish.

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