Look, I don't mean to brag, but...
My tomatoes all kind of ripened at once,
And there were a LOT of them.
I've harvested about 5kg every couple of days for the last few weeks.
I've given them to friends. I've taken them to work (to impress the gardeners). I've slow-roasted them (a la Maggie Beer, and very good they are, too). I've cooked pots and pots of napoli. I've even thrown them at the dog, just for fun.
I know I should have had my act together and made passata, but I didn't. Next season I will be prepared.
It's ridiculous. We're running out of horizontal surfaces. We've eaten so many tomatoes that the Creative Genius broke out in a rash, and I think I know why...
Of course, I could always stage a neighbourhood version of this:
but it seems a bit of a waste.
It should all be over in another week, and I'll go back to having no tomatoes at all.
I dare say I'll miss them in time, but right now...
This springs to mind:
Shula's version of Maggie Beer's oven-roasted tomatoes
Slice enough tomatoes (preferably roma, but cherry tomatoes are lovely, too) to cover two shallow baking sheets (lined with baking paper). You need to leave some space between them.
Drizzle them with your favourite olive oil and then sprinkle over a strong, fresh, finely-chopped herb, (I favour oregano, but thyme is fabulous, and I suspect tarragon would also be good. Do the same with brown or white sugar and salt and pepper.
Slide them into a very slow oven, somewhere around 140 degrees celsius, maybe even lower, depending on your oven, and leave them for hours (if you're using a fan-forced oven, turn the fan off, or make the temperature even lower. The slower they cook, the better. Keep an eye on them after a couple of hours, you don't want them to shrivel and die, you want them to slow go soft and collapse. If they show signs of caramelising or burning, take them out. Anyway, you'll know by the smell that they're ready, because your house will smell delicious.
Put them in a container, perhaps with some more olive oil, and cover. Use them in anything you want - salads, sauces, or just eat them on bread with a good, sharp cheese. They should keep for a couple of weeks, but twenty bucks says that you'll have eaten the lot by the end of the day.
Enjoy.
